PrairieDust visual journal

Lyon County, Kansas – As we watched each other she starting stamping one foot. Was it a warning or an invitation to dance? I’ll never know, she retreated into the woods soon after this shot.

It’s always a gift to get close to these elusive animals. They bound for safety at the least provocation, so trying to photograph them is a fragile undertaking. I hid behind a small tree and stayed very quiet until this young deer passed close by. Moments after…

A sweat bee (Halictidae) on a Maximilian sunflower is caught in the beam of the morning sun in Morris County, Kansas.

Dumb title, I know

Found this green creature blissfully floating in a local pond this afternoon. Doesn’t that make you want to go skinny dipping in a mossy green pool?

I was studying a huge golden garden spider when a bee stumbled into its web. The spider quickly decended to its prey, and with incredible speed had the unfortunate visitor totally enclosed in aciniform silk. It really is astonishing how deftly the spider moves across…

My favorite of all arachnids, the gorgeous golden garden spider. This one makes it’s home among the wildflowers of Morris County, Kansas.

Lyon County, Kansas – found along the Flint Hills Nature Trail near Allen – This is a small creature, about 3/4 inch.

Lyon County, Kansas – found along the Flint Hills Nature Trail near Allen