http://www.randylarsonphotography.com/Site/Blog/Blog.html A Blog that will talk about topics connected to landscape photography and the Midwest iWeb 2.0.4 http://web.me.com/rjlarson1/Site/Blog/Entries/2010/8/31_The_Beauty_of_the_Landscape_in_Late_August.html e8211f5a-401a-4da8-889a-343ccc4e1699 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:34:16 -0500 This old white oak grows in a large bottom close to my home. I enjoy seeing, photographing and visiting this tree in all seasons. At one time this farm field often grew corn - now it is planted with prairie grasses and wildflowers. The oak has been here for probably over 175 years, and fortunately the farm families that have lived on this land had the foresight to let it grow undisturbed. This tree brings much more beauty to the landscape than just another acre of open land. I asked the farmer about this - he said that his great grandpa, grandpa, and father did not cut this tree, so he was not going to. He believes that the tree has earned the right to live out it’s live peacefully on the land; I couldn’t agree more. http://web.me.com/rjlarson1/Site/Blog/Entries/2010/8/23_Photo-A-Day_Images.html 18c3ea2b-fd41-429d-861a-f7728aae13a8 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:06:59 -0500 These are recent Photo-A-Day images - I still have not missed a day in 2010, now 235 days. The first image is from August 5. This is Jewelweed, one of my favorite late Summer/early Autumn wildflowers. Jewelweed generally likes damp roots; this delicate beauty was found in the low part of my prairie. The clouds are from August 13 - morning storm clouds that were an accurate indication of the day. We had thunderstorms most of the day, including 3” of rain. The last image is from August 4, and is from an old playground in Livingston. The elementary school is now used for other purposes, the playground empty. http://web.me.com/rjlarson1/Site/Blog/Entries/2010/8/19_Beautiful_August_Mornings.html c24c57ea-4b9a-4588-98b8-a612083cd0ba Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:49:56 -0500 With the days getting shorter and the nights cooler, the mornings in August are beautiful with fog hanging in the valleys, wonderful color in the sky before sunrise and the prairie full of color. This image was made at dawn showing big bluestem silhouetted against the beautiful colors of the sky. August and September mornings are some of my favorite of the year. http://web.me.com/rjlarson1/Site/Blog/Entries/2010/7/28_More_Photo-A-Day_Images.html eadd834f-f229-4e08-93a6-45c56e24a981 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:40:05 -0500 I am now 209 days into the project without missing a day. These images are(left to right) July 13-Grant County Courthouse in Lancaster, July 20-Shooks Prairie Cemetery west of Monticello, and July 23-the prairie in bloom near our land. The courthouse in Lancaster is a favorite stop of mine-it has a copper dome and a nice little museum, with some wonderful murals painted inside the dome. The Shooks Prairie Cemetery has one of the very few Revolutionary War veterans buried in Wisconsin. The prairie comes alive in July and August with bergamont, yellow coneflowers, little and big bluestem, cupplant, compassplant and many others. The goldenrod are starting to bloom-the gold of August. http://web.me.com/rjlarson1/Site/Blog/Entries/2010/7/17_The_Fullness_of_Summer,_And_A_Special_Farm.html c6ce5c56-4a03-439d-8d0d-085a2f51c958 Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:23:04 -0500 So far this Summer we have had above average rain and temperatures, which followed an early Spring. The corn and soybean crops look to be outstanding, and this field of oats, photographed this evening, is nearly ready to harvest. We are in our first dry stretch of the season, not uncommon for mid July. This is Karla’s folks farm, Michael and Jean Ryan, and is located between Hollandale and Dodgeville. This farm was homesteaded from the government in 1854 from some of Karla’s ancestors, and the family will be honored at this year’s Wisconsin State Fair for being in the family over 150 years.