No Hurry

Jan 11, 2023

By Christian Begeman

It is nearing mid-January and the heart of winter is upon us. The last of the holiday lights have come down and the joy of the holiday season has shifted to glumly hunkering down to ride out the rest of the cold weather days. So far, snow and wind have been abundant in our part of the northern plains. A large snow event began on January 2 in southeastern South Dakota and would not let up for nearly three days. Since most of the country celebrated New Year’s Day on January 2 this year, I had the day off. The adage that “bad weather makes for great photos” once again ran through my brain, so I donned the cold weather gear and made my way to the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus to seek out and possibly capture a little winter beauty.

The Outdoor Campus is an old oxbow of the Big Sioux River. An abundance of trees provides ample windbreak, so the snow falls a little straighter on the tall grass plot within. There is a special kind of beauty while standing in such a patch with steady snow falling all around. As I was taking this in, I heard the calls of a small flock of American tree sparrows moving through and feeding on the seeds still in the grass heads. The birds, normally a muted tan and brown, stood out starkly against the cold and snow. I don’t normally think of a sparrow as a pretty bird, but once again I was proven wrong.

After walking along a few favorite paths, I headed to Terrace Park alongside Covell Lake in north central Sioux Falls. By now the snow was deeper and getting around the terraced park walkways was becoming quite a workout. Even so, the sweat rolling down my back was worth the trouble. The park has ornamental trees not normally found in the wild, including a magnolia tree with fuzzy buds that hung on to the snowflakes in uniquely beautiful ways. Also, a tree still full of red, medium sized berries caught my eye and camera’s attention for quite some time.

A full five days later, after the weather broke and I was dug out of my place, I was on the road to Aberdeen to attend my nephew’s wedding as a heavy winter fog lifted over the countryside. Jack Frost’s handiwork was evident nearly the whole trip. I took back roads, intending to visit a few grand old country churches along the way and stopping for any other photo opportunity. What is normally a three-hour drive, I did in about five. It is good not to be in a hurry on a winter drive in South Dakota. Hopefully these photos prove that to be true.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he's not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.