You Have Animal Pictures Coming Out Your...

Ears. And mostly ones of bison. I swear, no matter how many times I drove through the herd, I NEVER got tired of taking pictures of them. They're just so MAJESTIC! But here are some of my best critter moments of the summer!

You Photograph ALL The Plants!

Monday, July 8th, 2013

If you've read my "Paid To Go On Adventures" entry, you'd know that this entry will be my educational documentation of my Prairie Trail hike...and some others. I mean, I have to know what all of them are anyways, so why not share that with all of you?!

Prairie Trail

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Western Salsify - Tragopogon dubius
Other common names: Goat's Beard, meadow salsify
Flowering Period: May - June

Plains Prickly Pear - Opuntia polyacantha
Flowering Period: May - June

Purple coneflower - 

Woolly Vervian - Verbena stricta
Other common names: Hoary, mullein-leaved verbena
Flowering period: June - September

Creekside Trail

Wild Bergamot - Monarda fistulosa

Daylily - Hemerocallis fulva
Flowering Period: June - July

Darkthroat Shootingstar - Dodecatheon pulchellum
Other common names: Cowslip
Flowering Period: May - June

You Start Going Batty!

Okay, so that might have happened a long time ago, but on Saturday August 17th I got to spend the whole night at the 8th Annual Bat Festival! And got paid for it! YESSSSSSSSSSS!

At the end of the night I got to help take the banner down...THAT was an adventure.

This little guy was my partner in crime for the night.

Setting up the mist net. I think they're having way too much fun.

"Can I have a magnet?"
"Can you give me $3?"
Loved this sassy lady!

Talking to visitors about different types of bat houses.

Craft for the night!
Black or brown bats that you can clip anywhere with a clothespin!

These cookies are apparently famous...okay, maybe not, but they drew people
in by advertising them on the posters. They WERE pretty delicious...

Caught in the act!

Bat cookies: Julie-approved.

This little guy is the cutest thing ever. Let me tell you why...

A couple years ago he woke up in the middle of the night with a bat on his back!
I'm not sure if it had bitten him or not, but of course his mom freaked about rabies
and he went through the whole series of treatments. (Sidenote: I could go on forever
about the whole bats and rabies thing.) Anyways, after all that he still loves bats,
and even wore his Batman shirt! What a great little guy.

Lots of posters and displays inside the barn for people to look at before the presentation.

Presentation over the bats of South Dakota! I would tell you some fun facts,
but I was honestly outside entertaining people the whole time.

Local bat house. Wait for it...

BAM! Clearly a bat house.

Watching for bats! Our resident great horned owl also paid us a visit
while we were waiting.