Prairie Garden
Essay and photos by, Jill O'Brien
If one is looking to regenerate the prairie - rain sure does help! In the past two weeks we’ve received almost eight inches of precipitation. Layered with days of warm sunshine, the prairie has turned into a paradise.
Although the recent "Flower Moon” wasn't visible, the prairie flowers sure are, sprinkling the pastures with color, like confetti on a cupcake. And the animals and birds are content in their ocean of grass, and we (ranchers) can all take a deep breath, knowing that their food supply is plentiful.
Here are a few photos of our “Prairie Garden” that were taken over the last couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy them!
Playas are full, spilling out onto the pastures.
The buffalo shed their woolly coats in the spring and their fur can be found in clumps all over the prairie.
The big bulls still linger at the herds edge, waiting for the calving season to end and the rut to begin. 
You can also find little boys and their grandmas on the prairie too, especially when it's a good day to "go fly a kite"!
Thanks for sharing the photos. I have never seen the prairie so lush. The Hills are pretty green now too, but we didn’t get anywhere near 8" in the Nemo area.
Thanks for the beautiful photos. The great prairie is always on my mind….
Thank you for your comments. On buffalo fur, Erney, our friend and dog caretaker, did use a little buffalo fur for his flies in his fly-tying days. For other purposes – one would need to spend a lot of time gathering it – as it is scattered over 34,000 acres. Then of course there is the wind, which carries it beyond.
Thanks, Jill. I felt such a great peace looking at photos. And I am going to get a kite for my 4 yr. old grandson.
also anxiously awaiting our huge order of buffalo for the summer. So good. its coming on Thursday just in time for family gatherings. Thank you! Some day we are going to come for a visit. On my bucket list.
Love these pics, Jill…esp the shedding of the wool…