Thanksgiving, Post and Photos by Dennis Plank
Dennis has been getting his knees muddy and his back sore pulling Scot’s Broom on the South Sound Prairies since 1998. In 2004, when the volunteers started managing Prairie Appreciation Day, he made the mistake of sending an email asking for “lessons learned” and got elected president of Friends of Puget Prairies-a title he appropriately renamed as “Chief Cat Herder”. He has now turned that over to Gail Trotter. Along the way, he has worked with a large number of very knowledgeable people and picked up a few things about the prairie ecosystem. He loves to photograph birds and flowers.
September Sunrise on Glacial Heritage.
This year with so many things seeming to go wrong (and a few right) it seemed like a good time to go back to the simple things.
I am thankful:
For Meadowlarks singing, Harriers dancing and Kestrels hovering;
For frost on bracken ferns and dew on spiderwebs;
For the first tiny bloom of Spring Gold and the first Shooting Star.
Shooting Star
I am Thankful
For a prairie sunrise on a perfect May morning;
For a herd of elk grazing in the distance;
For a Savannah Sparrow tsee-tsee-tseeing in the grass tops.
Savannah Sparrow
I am Thankful
For the first rain of fall and a sunny Prairie Appreciation Day;
For winter oaks blooming with mosses and lichen;
For spring woodlands blooming with Lilies and Trilliums
Small Flowered Trillium
I am Thankful
For a rainy spring day of pulling Scotch Broom;
For a sunny day in July digging out Tansy Ragwort;
For a crisp November day planting prairie flowers;
Planting Forbs for Butterflies
I am Thankful most of all
For each and every one of the hundreds of people
working so hard to restore and preserve
this wonderful ecosystem we call prairies.
And I am thankful for you!
– for gorgeous photographs
– for dedication to protecting the environment
– for knowledge that you willing share
– for your ability to herd cats
– for having Michelle as your partner and soul mate.
Thank you for all you bring,