North Central Nebraska Fine Art Photographer: Finding Catharsis On The Plains

I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge.

~ My Antonia

There is something majestic about the the plains.  Perhaps it is only because I was born and raised on this land.  I have heard others call it flat, boring, and even ugly, and to this day, I cannot understand where they got that notion.  As I spent time on the home place over the last several days, I felt a resurgence of my love for the land; I felt like it was calling to me.

Earlier in the week, my two cousins and I took salt and mineral out to the cattle in the south pastures.  I was instantly taken back to my childhood, remembering all the times I saddled up my mare and just took off.  My parents never worried about me getting lost or getting into trouble.  I would roam for hours in the canyons and hills with nothing but my horse, my curiosity, and my imagination. A lot of my frustrations got worked out during those rides.

Yesterday, as the sun broke the horizon, it lit up the ice crystals from the hard frost.  The fox tails and brome grasses glistened in the morning light, and as I knelt down to capture their heavenly glow, I realized the beauty in that precious moment.  Though my sadness has not been entirely lifted from my soul, the new dawn reminded me that she had bigger and better things waiting for her…things this earthly life couldn’t offer her.