Pillsbury Crossings Small Life

Saturday Wayne and I stopped by Pillsbury Crossing on our way to Konza Prairie. Pillsbury Crossing is a place along Deep Creek where the water passes over a limestone ledge to form a water fall approximately 40' wide with a 5' drop, a unique spot indeed for Kansas. While my partner spent some time closer to the falls, I meandered down stream a bit in more of the shaded areas. I found these little guys hopping all over the place. I seem to really be enjoying the process of slowing down, and just standing in one spot for a while to look. It's kinda amazing how beauty and in this case small but important life is right at your feet. These fellas were about the size of a nickle.

Same little guy just hopped over a leaf to see what the heck I was doing.

Nice intimate environmental shots on both counts Brad. The leaves give a good sense of scale to your subject. It was great to see so many of these little fellows hopping around when you consider the world wide decline in populations.

Your time at Pillsbury Crossing was much more productive than mine as it turned out.

Brad, I love the tones and shapes of the first image. And a great environmental shot of the frog. Nice catch.

That first shot is fantastic Brad...beautiful color, shapes and patterns. And the frog really tops this one off. Thanks for sharing!

Yes, interesting environmental portraits. Of the two, I think I prefer the second for the lower point of view and the simpler composition.

I remember coming across a swarm of these little guys once a few years ago in the vicinity of a drying mud puddle in a rutted logging road. They were more the size of the tip of your little finger, and they were so far from any reliable source of water that I don't see how many of them would have been able to make it.

Brad, the size of the frog and the markings on the legs and upper lip suggest Blanchard's cricket frog. They were probably having one last look at 2008 before burrowing into the mud just ahead of that nasty cold front.

We have had another warm, extended fall this year, at least at this latitude. It was only 15 years ago from yesterday, Nov. 4, that I had some carpenters building wooden bridges along some nature trails at a new nature center. The temp. was 10 degrees F., with winds howling and snow blowing.


The times, they are a changin' in more ways than one!


Best,
Don

Well done, Brad. I prefer the color/perspective of the second photo.

Both are nice shots Brad. I like how the frog blends in in the first shot

Hey Brad - All of the above I prefer the second shot because it is easier to see the frog due to the contrast with the leaf. Thanks for posting them. It shows what we can find if we only look down once in a while.

He is so cute!! I much prefer the second closer-up shot, and the leaves really give some scale. Great comp and capture. I love tiny little frogs.