Blue Grama is the most common and prolific native grass in my area. Widespread, too: its range includes four provinces and 27 states. I've seen it as far south as Texas. One of the keys to its success is drought tolerance, and we have plenty of that (ie. too much of nothing when it comes to moisture).

I almost didn't take this photo; it felt like a longshot, a kind of beauty I could not possibly convey. But I set the tripod up anyway in the slanting light of an October evening, bracketed my exposures, and ended up liking the result.

I've always found the flower heads/seed heads interesting: comb-like when fresh, curling into eyebrow shapes as they dry out in late summer. More often than not I've tried going in close with a macro or telephoto lens; however I think this wider view works. Maybe not a crowd pleaser - I'm not likely to sell this one due to the subject matter and its limited colour palette - but I'm happy just to please myself. I'm sure the pressure of pleasing a client accelerated my learning curve years ago. These days I try to dive a little deeper.

Tomorrow: a colourful fall image that I overlooked for more than a decade...

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Blue Grama Bouteloua gracilis plant grass seed heads fall autumn wide view drought specialists native widespread brown evening light uplands wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024

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Grasses in nature are probably the most difficult subject I attempt, and because of that I don't put in the same degree of effort that I do with other subjects. Usually I just stare at them, dumbfounded. How do I do this? Where to start?

They're spindly, in constant motion, and definitely not sexy, not one of the glamour subjects. Still, living on the edge of Grasslands National Park, they are always in the back of my mind.

One morning last month I stopped along a park road, intending to follow the edge of a gully to a river overview with landscape photo potential. Well... the grass was tall, and wet, and the dawn light was already flattening into morning light. It wasn't really working. But, hiking back, surrounded by tall Quack Grass, I took a few moments to consider, and came up with this. I thought the sun star and the Banded Garden Spider in its web near the bottom left would add interest.

Quack Grass is an invasive species that arrived in North America as a seed contaminant. Like many introduced plants, it chokes out native species. The other two species identifiable here are also invasive: Crested Wheat Grass (lower left and right) and Yellow Sweet-clover. Park managers have been working for more than three decades to restore this prairie to its healthiest possible state, knowing that they can never return it to its original condition (bringing back the extinct plains grizzly, for example, is not an option; although bison have been reintroduced, they are not migratory, and so their impact is different). In parts of today's park that historically were lightly used - ie. for open range grazing, far from corrals and buildings - plant communities are mostly natural, native, and healthy. In spots like this... not so much.

It's a wonderful park, the largest protected piece of prairie land in Canada. And it's in good shape overall. I know park managers would love to eradicate these invasive species, but so far this is proving to be easier said than done.

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Quack Grass Elymus repens Crested Wheat Grass Agropyron cristatum Yellow Sweet-clover Melilotus officinalis landscape vertical grass grasses flowers introduced invasive sun sun star spiderweb Banded Garden Spider Argiope trifasciata arachnid web wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024

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First shot of a new image set: prairie textures, in pano format. Not a horizon in sight.

Hordeum jubatum, the Foxtail Barley, is widespread in northern North America and Siberia, loved by few, considered a destructive weed by farmers and ranchers alike. There is truth to this: the plant may spread diseases to wheat crops, and it is harmful to grazing animals. It's hardy, and an extensive root system makes it difficult to eradicate, as I learned while trying to get rid of a few patches that have invaded my backyard garden.

Practical considerations aside, it's not unattractive, and grows wild in the big park just down the road. Here it is seen with the oddly named (for a prairie plant) reddish Seaside Arrowgrass, another widespread, saline-tolerant plant that is poisonous to livestock. Whatever species you happen to belong to, including ours, the prairie is always trying to take a bite out of you.

I try not to judge. I look for interesting shapes, patterns, lines, colours, textures. A teacher told me many years ago that if I worked from this angle, the content will be there - and he was correct. Who knew that two nasty plants could look so beautiful? The prairie is full of surprises.

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Foxtail Barley Hordeum jubatum Seaside Arrowgrass Triglochin maritima pano panorama looking down summer green wild prairie weeds Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023

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Grasses aren't exactly "glory subjects" for photographers - in fact, they are mostly overlooked. One thinks of a manicured lawn. And certainly a monoculture like that holds little excitement or even interest beyond its function as neat, green trim for some homes.

Wild prairie is a different scene altogether, containing a multiplicity of grass species. But despite knowing this, I tend to overlook them as too difficult to photograph well. This spring I've worked at pushing through this self-created block, and one of my approaches has been to use a long lens to isolate the details against an out of focus background.

Blue Grama is perhaps the most common species, occurring from northern Mexico to Saskatchewan, at the northern extent of the mixed-grass prairie. Its comb-like spikes make it easy to identify. Grasses are the prairie's drought specialists, able to survive extremes of weather (such as the 3-year drought we have just gone through), and rebounding well when the rains return. Like many prairie grasses, it has deep roots. The plant itself extends 7 to 18 inches above the soil, but its roots can reach down 6.5 feet!

This spring the prairie looks more lush and vibrant than it has for years: we are awash in green!

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Blue Grama Bouteloua gracilis plant grass stem spike spikelets flowering stem vertical telephoto green wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023

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That's timothy-grass - an introduced species for hay and pasture in the Rocky Mountain foothills and on the northern prairie. Timothy is now widespread, found in moist places across the prairie. I made this shot early one morning, again using the long lens on a subject for which I usually turn to the 105mm macro. At this location I was travelling light, carrying only the telephoto, looking for birds. When birds proved elusive - numbers seem to be way down across my region - I turned to other subjects.

Photographed at Lonetree Lake, near Climax, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Timothy-Grass Phleum pratense plant grass introduced hay pasture European perenial sun sunrise silhouette square 700mm telephoto dawn beauty Wow! nature wild prairie Lonetree Lake Climax Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023 naturesquare 4tografie

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