An Evening Drive (Original Photography)

Howdy,

A couple weeks ago, I started a new job. Because the state park closes the "Minnesota Safari" earlier in the winter, I haven't had as many opportunities to see them. Fortunately, I am able to flex my hours. Last week, I arranged my schedule so I could leave at 2:30 on Friday an made it to the park about a half hour before the gates closed.

^{"This salad is a bit dry."}

The herd wasn't exactly close to the road, but close enough to get some full-body portraits with the 200mm lens. They were in a little stand of trees, so I had to be a little patient and move my vehicle a couple times to get them in the right spot.

^{"No hands!"}

This old, ruined windmill stands guard, watching over the bison. Most of the snow from last week is gone, now, but the scene still looks a little bleak. While I was still trying to get a couple photos of the bison, the ranger came through. It was after 3:30, which is when they close. I have a good rapport with the ranger. She probbably would have let me stay longer, but i didn't want to inconvenience her. Instead, I headed out to the gravel roads.

^{Lame Sunset Picture}

I don't usually take sunset photos unless they include an interesting focal point, but the clouds and light over this field were interesting. There weren't any tractors left in the fields, this time. It has been a tough year for farmers, but not as bad as in the west side of the state. There, farmers were unable to harvest a large percentage of their sugar beets. Frigid temperatures came early and froze the ground. In some cases, farmers lost up to 40% of their harvest.

Here in corn and soy country, most of the crop seems to have been harvested in time. The recent wet weather will mean running crop driers, though.

^{Worlds Worst Back Scratcher}

It's not a tractor, but this thing looks wicked. Note to self: no napping in the field.

^{More Field Lines}

I'm hoping to get out and take some more interesting photos this weekend. The sun is finally out and I'm soaking it up. With sun streaming across my screen, too, I apologize in advance for any typos!

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