Research

Niobrara State Park is one of my favorite places to visit up in this part of the state. Situated on at the confluence of the Missouri and Niobrara Rivers, the landscape in this region is constantly changing– so much that the town of Niobrara has had to relocate twice. Between Nebraska and South Dakota, there is the river and the floodplain, so open, wide and saturated with water. Its marshes holds some of the best water-fowling opportunities in the state. …

With spring comes the spawning season for many species of fish in Nebraska – it is also a busy time for the hatcheries in our state that hatch fish eggs and transplant them in our waterways. I have always been curious about how the biologists catch the fish and collect the milt and eggs and how the entire process works from start to finish. During the Northern pike spawn on Pelican lake at the Valentine refuge, I got to find …

If there’s one thing I can do that will improve the chances of snowfall, it seems to be any notion of betting against it. As soon as I published the headline “Old Man Winter’s Parting Shot?” for my last blog post, the weatherman answered my question and was calling for another shot from him. As I write this post with snow falling outside my window over a blanket of white, Old Man Winter has proven, indeed, that he had a …

Looking back on the last few weeks, I can hardly believe all that I’ve experienced… seeing pronghorn antelope for the first time, shooting my first snow goose, shooting my first pheasant and quail, shooting a Civil War cannon(!), holding a pallid sturgeon for the first time and getting to spawn walleye! Here I am with my first snow goose, thanks to Scott Wessel who took me out hunting. To keep warm, I like to wear my warm bunny bomber hat …

It has been a slow start to spring, and not much is blooming yet in eastern Nebraska woodlands, but that doesn’t mean nothing interesting is going on…  read more here: http://prairieecologist.com/2013/04/15/a-weekend-walk-in-the-woods/

Bringing Fort Hartsuff back to life, 67 Civil War re-enactors from Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa gathered this past weekend, April 13-14, to portray Fort McPherson in 1867.  In this semi-immersive event, re-enactors lived, ate and slept like 19th century Union soldiers and civilians to offer visitors an accurate representation of military life post-Civil War. Superintendent Jim Domeier of Fort Hartsuff reported approximately 530 visitors for the weekend— a great turnout despite the cold, wet weather. “I was very pleased with …

What a great day of turkey hunting – although I chose to leave my bow at home and just shoot with my camera, it was an awesome day in the blind. I almost like to shoot things with my camera just as much as I do with a bow, gun or what have you. I guess it doesn’t really matter – when you have hunted game for 30-plus years it’s a nice change to view wildlife through the lens of …

Old Man Winter has been a little slow in delivering this region measurable snowfall this year, but he didn’t mess around when he finally got around to it. I’ve seen varying reports of snowfall in the region this week that range up to 20 inches in Chadron. With the driving winds, the drifts became measured in feet instead of inches. Such a blizzard certainly doesn’t come without hardship by many, but I’d wager it a challenge to find someone who …

From now through May 19, Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha has a Lego display of 14 sculptures by artist Sean Kenney using more than 500,000 total bricks. His biggest display, a mother bison, features 45,143 bricks. It’s a very cool sight for adults and even neater for kids. Visit http://www.lauritzengardens.org/ for more details. JK

“While I’m there” means making a photo anytime you can, regardless of how much time you have. A lot of the photos I get are happenstance, going to or from a place where I plan to shoot. Below are a couple of recent examples. JK