Wetland Series

Oil on Canvas
18 x 31

I mentioned the farmland last time, we also have a lot of rivers. There are the big rivers like the Mississippi and the Missouri, and smaller rivers like the Meramac, Big River, St. Francis and about a dozen others. Along with the rivers come wetlands. Normally you might think of the wetlands as a place only for the migrating ducks and geese, and the wetlands do fill up with birds during migration. Duck hunting is very big around here as you might have guessed. But the wetlands have other purposes too, not the least of which is to provide a buffer during floods.

When the ducks have passed through and the duck blinds are empty the wetlands can be a pretty cool place to wander around in. The ducks and geese give way to the wading birds like herons and egrets. Some of the places where the water is stiller will have water lilies growing in them like this one at the Shaw Nature Reserve.