The Color of Summer

Jul 8, 2020

By Christian Begeman

Late spring and early summer are prime nature photography times. Lots of daylight, lots of new life and lots of color on our beloved Northern Plains. Since I have an affinity for the great outdoors anyway, it is hard to find me home this time of year. Whether it is chasing rainbows after a storm, spotting the flare of color on breeding birds or going on a macro expedition in one of the nearby Nature Conservancy prairies, there isn’t much I’d rather be doing than seeking out all the color out there this time of year.

In June, my family spent four days in the Custer area celebrating my folks’ 55th anniversary. On one afternoon, we took a drive on a favorite road in Wind Cave National Park (NP 5). We caught the wildflowers just right as harebell, green milkweed, prairie rose and many others were all in bloom. These wildflowers attract insects of all sorts, including butterflies and skippers. I thought it was pretty ironic that I was down on my hands and knees taking photos of plants while my mom explored nearby. The last time that a scene like that happened was probably when I was told to weed the garden. Let me just say that I had quite a different attitude about kneeling in the dirt back then.

Taking trips across the state affords the opportunity to explore new locales and see new sights. In late May, I made a detour up to the Cave Hills in Harding County and was in awe at the botany in the Custer National Forest area near Picnic Springs. I have never seen so many pasqueflowers. Most were going to seed, but a handful of blooms were still evident. Prairie smoke was also abundant and along one cow trail I even found these two uniquely beautiful plants side by side.

On my June trip to the southern Black Hills, I detoured along the Bad River Road southwest of Fort Pierre and witnessed the river hills full of newly blooming sweet clover. Quite the sight (and aroma) in the early evening light. Later I was treated to another spectacular sunset somewhere between Midland and Philip. It was so grand that I had to stop and photograph it as best I could.

Earlier in the month I spent some time in the prairie hills and sloughs of Deuel County east of Clear Lake. I found nice stands of the fairly rare and quite lovely white lady’s slipper flowers. A few weeks later I stumbled upon ripe wild strawberries while kneeling in a ditch shooting a blue-eyed grass flower. The strawberries were about the size of blueberries with a taste better than any garden strawberry I’ve ever encountered. Later that same day thunderstorms popped up to the west. I made my way through them (getting a free car wash) and then enjoyed a full vivid rainbow on the backside somewhere west of Bradley in northeast Clark County.

I could go on to describe more colorful encounters the last few months, but I think I should let the photos do the talking. The good news is that rain has been falling throughout most of the state lately, so things are looking up for a colorful late summer too. I’m looking forward to getting back out there to see what is coming next. Here’s to hoping the same for you.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he's not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.