I find late summer a fascinating time on the prairie. As the seasons wax and wane, the prairie is always a changing phantasmagoria of color, sound, smells—of life making its annual bloomings and dyings. 

Early this August there were some clear nights without moonlight and I went for some little midnight walks, especially to see the sky, which is slowly disappearing due to the light pollution from the growing metropolis in the center of Johnson County. 

Out of all insects, butterflies are favorites of humans for their sheer visibility and beauty. Although bees and other pollinators are getting more attention lately as parts of a healthy, functioning ecosystem, it is the colorful, scale-winged lepidopterans that have lit our imaginations for centuries. 

A lot of people have an aversion to snakes. For some it is just a distaste, they would rather not get involved with them; while others are plainly terrified and don’t even want to look at them.