Road A, just off Highway 56

I was looking for landscapes along the Morris County border this evening, scouting back roads and watching the rapidly changing light model the hills. Things weren’t coming together yet, so I scanned wild things along the roadside.

On the back roads I keep my eye open for wildflowers, critters and natural grasses, gradually building up my library of images. A common visitor to the wildflowers, tiny metallic green “sweat bees” (Halictidae) are a personal favorite. The colors are gorgeous. But they are very tiny and move quickly, which makes’em a bugger to photograph. The bees in these photos are about a 1/4 inch in length. I watched them climb deep into the flowers for pollen and nectar, roll around a bit, then peek a head out before streaking toward another blossom. Maybe it was the pollen dust, but these little guys sparkled. It was like a wild candy apple paint job on a hot rod.

Missing for 17 days, we’d about given up on seeing our cat again, but she found her way back home last evening. This morning she’s resting near a window.

Missing and missed, this was “Tiger” as a kitten. As you can tell there was a sweetness about her.

I don’t know how they get buffalo rugs looking so nice.  If you look closely you’ll see and undercoat of green in the dried prairie grass. That’s the way it is now, the first signs of Spring growth are evident across the Flint Hills..

The original photos are of Kansas gamefish in the aquarium at Salina’s Central Mall, though this now has little resemblance.  This is a blend of two photos with some effects applied.