Grasses are some of my favorite plants. I love the way they sway in the breeze and catch the light. When ripe and warmed by the sun they smell like autumn. This is Big Bluestem. It is also known as Turkey Foot Grass because the ripe seed heads look like upside-down turkey feet. This photo was taken at Campbell Prairie, which is in the Oak Openings Metro park.
Hidden in the same prairie is this Praying Mantis egg case. It is very hard, but light - like Styrofoam. The case provides insulation and allows the eggs (and the species) to survive the winter.
From Loren Eiseley's "Immense Journey" :
ReplyDeleteBy the time I get to the wood I am carrying all manner of seeds hooked in my coat or piercing my socks or sticking by ingenious devices to my shoestrings. I let them ride. After all, who am I to contend against such ingenuity? It is obvious that nature, or some part of it in the shape of these seeds, has intentions beyond this field and has made plans to travel with me.