Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
SD
Stars and Stripes Above Mt. Moriah
This is a special American flag. It proudly waves over Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, South Dakota. By special permission of the United States Congress, this flag is never taken down. The large bronze sign beside the flag says, “The flag never goes down on Mt. Moriah Cemetery, as Deadwood was granted permission by the U.S. Congress during World War I to fly the flag 24 hours a day to honor all veterans who have served our country.”
We toured the cemetery on our recent trip to the Black Hills area. This cemetery is high on a hill and, according to the Deadwood City website, “…the final resting place of western legends, murderers, madams, and pillars of Deadwood’s early economic development.” There, you will find the graves of James Butler Hickok (aka Wild Bill Hickok); Martha Jane Canary (aka Calamity Jane); and Johnny Perrett (aka Potato Creek Johnny).
You can get a better, larger view of any of the images on this post by clicking on them.
This flag photo is available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
A Beautiful Capture
This is a panoramic view of Lakota Lake. This is a small lake in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
We stumbled upon this calm, out-of-the-way lake while driving though the park. This was one of my wife’s favorite spots at Custer State Park. She is the one on the shore taking photos of the beauty that she sent to her parents. This is a very wide image – a compilation of five individual photos taken.
According to the US Forest Service, “Lakota Lake is located southeast of Keystone, SD, on US Highway 16A (Iron Mountain Road), within the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve. It is a small, non-motorized lake and a popular destination for fishing and kayaking. A hitchrail is provided for horses, along with access to Iron Creek Trail #15. Several picnic tables offer a scenic view of the lake. Lakota Lake Road was upgraded in fall 2021.”
You can get a little better, larger view by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Kid Crusher
A young mountain goat posed for its portrait high above us. This was one of our delightful finds on our drive through Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills of South Dakota. If you look close, you can see the tiny, black nubs of its horns starting to show.
We had heard that there were mountain goats in the hills of Custer State park, but didn’t see any there. We saw a number of them in Spearfish Canyon – some up high and some grazing along the road. They seemed to be very comfortable with people and cars going by. More photos of the mountain goats will be coming in the future.
You can get a better, more detailed view of this youngster by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Badlands Spectrum of Colors
This is one of my favorite views of Badlands National Park. This is a panorama of the Yellow Mounds section of the park.
I love the variety of the landscape – from the stripped, rugged rock formations in the background to the yellowish hued mounds accented with red shoulders, to the green valley with a creek bed coursing through it.
If you look closely, on the hill to the far left, you can see cars of park visitor on the road. To see that and other details in this image, click on the photo for a much larger view.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Morning Lake Mist
This is an early morning view of Stockade Lake in West Custer Township of South Dakota. Stockade Lake is the largest of Custer State Park’s five lakes. This image was captured just before the sun rose over the trees.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Crazy Horse Memorial
This is the closest we got to the Crazy Horse Memorial on our recent trip to South Dakota. It was impressive in size, but clearly they have a lot of work to do. They’ve been at it for 75 years.
The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills, in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. You can learn more at Wikipedia.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Portrait of Plains Power
I’m sure if this American Bison knew I would be taking his portrait he would have paid more attention to his personal appearance. (Gee, fella, look in a mirror once in a while!) Even though a bit deshelled, this big bull exudes confidence and power.
This guy was photographed while resting on a hillside, along with several others of a small herd, at Custer State Park in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. He seemed pretty carefree.
To view a larger image with a bit more detail, simply click on the photo and the image will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Prickly Poppy
This was a delightful find! This is a prickly poppy. I didn’t know this type of flower existed until I found this one by happenstance.
On our recent trip to Custer State Park in South Dakota, we had pulled over in the area of a small prairie dog town. As I was trying to get some good photos of the prairie dogs, I noticed this white flower. It was the only one in that area. I believe I found this particular bloom at its peak. We have poppies at our home in northeast Wisconsin but they are the large, redish-orange variety that have a very short blooming period in early spring. Finding this delicate white flower on a prickly plant blooming in late summer was a nice surprise.
From the little I was able to find online, the prickly poppy is a beautiful wildflower that lives for only one growing season. It grows naturally in sandy, dry areas. New plants grow from seed produced the previous year. The papery white flowers bloom throughout the summer. The plant has blue-green leaves and the stems are covered with sharp spines.
You can get a better view of the details in this flower image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
A Night at Mount Rushmore
On our trip to South Dakota’s Black Hills, we visited Mount Rushmore. We were sure to plan our visit for early evening so we could take part in the nightly program and lighting ceremony. This photo was taken as we exited the Memorial.
The rows of flags leading to the monument were flags of the states and territories of the United States. The evening ceremony and historical program they present is well worth the time. The only charge is a $10 parking fee. ($5 for seniors and free for military and veterans.)
I took a lot of photos of Mount Rushmore from various locations at the monument and around the area. You’ll see them posted here…in time.
Of course, the photo was taken in the dark and contains a boat-load of digital noise. I did my best to remove what I could but I could only do so much. (I might have to try harder.)
You can view a larger version of this photo by clicking on the image.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Yellow Mounds of the Badlands
This is a panoramic view of South Dakota’s Badlands National Park. This was taken in the Yellow Mounds area of the park. This is another one of those “otherworldly” places.
This is a very large image and the normal size screen can’t begin to do it justice. Still, you can get a much larger, full-screen view by clicking on the image. When you do a much larger version will open in a new browser tab. Enjoy!
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.