The Prairie

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, -
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few.

- emily dickinson
Until Carol and I explored the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (4-5 miles from the Bergland cabin on Blue Lake) I had no idea how beautiful prairies can be. Until our visit to Minnesota a couple of weeks ago, I'd always thought of them as dry, flat, grassy expanses. I was very pleased to discover acres of summer wildflowers between areas of oak savannahs (until recently all but chopped down out of existence, they, along with the prairie, have been replanted and restored at this refuge. It was easy to imagine why settlers moved here - so many trees just right for building cabins and so much land available to farm. So good for the pioneers; too bad for the land!)