Another Day: Another Storm

This storm boiled up quickly while we were at the 

Forest of Friendship this morning, and it produced rain and very high winds

It left a lot of broken limbs and debris in its wake...

Stacked stone fences in the Flint Hills

Throughout the more settled areas of the Flint Hills where the land was divided into parcels you can see these stacked stone fences.  I'm fascinated with the artful construction of them.

The Stark Beauty of the Flint Hills in Central Kansas

It is difficult to describe this place to someone who has never seen it.  The Flint Hills are a fairly narrow strip of land that runs north and south through the central part of Kansas.  Every time I return to the Flint Hills I try to photograph this vast, rolling grassland but the photos never do it justice.

Taking it easy in Topeka

my husband makes himself comfortable on Billie's sofa

(note the ever-present ipad)

Tim and I traveled to Kansas yesterday afternoon.  We will drive to a remote location in the Flint Hills, near Cottonwood Falls, to attend the Symphony in the Flint Hills, a benefit concert for the Kansas City Symphony.  Billie and I attended last year, and it was spectacular.  I am thrilled that Tim was able to come with me this year.  

We woke to the sound of gentle thunder from an early morning storm.  With luck, the storm has cleared out  and paved the way for a beautiful event this evening.  The thought of being the tallest thing for miles out in the middle of the Kansas grassland in a lightning storm doesn't thrill me, so I have my fingers crossed.

a peek out the front windows of my friend Billie's house.

Billie has a lovely bay window overlooking her front garden.

See the small green tree located between the bird feeder and the central

window casement?  That is her new Gingko tree!

I may "borrow" some more leaves to bring home for a thermofax screen......

Being in Kansas in mid-June is such a pleasure.  It is hot and humid, really almost the same as in San Antonio, although no one from either place believes me about this.  Things are lush and green, and the wildflowers on the prairie are blooming.  Nothing fills my cup like driving through the Flint Hills and seeing the rolling grassland.  The prairie has a stark, lush beauty that is like nothing else.  Try as I might I can never seem to capture the essence of it in a photograph.  And I WILL keep trying.  Stay tuned!