© Brad Mangas
From now until well into the winter months the changing of the tallgrasses will be like a small child tugging at my coattail. Always reminding me they are there and need attention.
I have no doubt that growing up on the prairies of Kansas with native tallgrasses along almost every highway and country road they have influenced my attraction to them simply with their constant presence. Many if not most with life long affiliations with things like “grass” will take them purely for granted, (oh yeah that’s big bluestem growing over there so what). It seems to have done the opposite to me, never seeming to be able to get enough, not every growing tired of being in and around it. I think the lack of knowledge of such things has much to do with it’s lack of attention. Grass is grass right?
This shot is of big bluestem as it’s heads begin to develop seed. The “awns” that are showing, (small little hair like fibers sticking out) each attached to a seed are typically bent in such a fashion that when the seed falls to the ground and the wind blows (which is everyday in Kansas) the awn causes the seed to spin itself deeper into the earth.
