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Blades of grass walt whitman6/20/2023 ![]() ![]() It’s almost 1,500 miles from Chicago to Santa Fe, New Mexico. …and paints the Santa Fe National Forest grasslands with scarlet. ![]() … brushes color into the mountains around Bandelier National Monument… Little bluestem, a stalwart of the Illinois tallgrass prairies… Grasses? Ummmm. Even here - in these dedicated natural places - grasses are overshadowed by their more charismatic botanical companions.Īlthough many of the grass ID’s remain a puzzle (I’ve got some ID work to do when I return home), I discovered a few familiar tallgrass prairie friends. Canada wild rye bristles its way through the mountains just outside Santa Fe. Mammals? Let me give you a checklist for our site. I asked the rangers and staff at various nature centers and National Parks we hiked through about my “mystery grasses,” but they seemed surprised at the question. And what are these thousands of electrified false eyelashes? ![]() The plants, birds, and even the animals kept me reaching for my field guides to try and ID them.ĭifferent birds. ![]() With this idea tucked into the back of my mind, I left the Midwestern tallgrass prairie this week for my first taste of New Mexico’s grasslands.Īt first glance, the Southwest grasslands seem completely unrelated to the Midwest prairies I know so intimately. Grasslands and prairies are some of the most imperiled natural systems in the world, says The Nature Conservancy. “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.” - Walt Whitman ![]()
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