Effigy Mounds Prairie

While at Effigy Mounds National Monument, I hiked the four-mile trail to Third Scenic View which provides the opportunity to gawk at Hanging Rock and sights upriver to the north.

Along the way, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trail skirted a prairie area which bordered the west side of the woods.

 

The sunlit field was aglow with green, touched with a sprinkling of beautiful blue. (What a coincidence---blue and green is my favorite color combination!)

   Closer inspection revealed the blue hues to be a multitude of spiderwort…..

…..and, wild lupine…..

You probably noticed the oriole in the second photo.  On the trail through the woods, I also caught a glimpse of a flicker and a rose-breasted grosbeak, but could not catch them on camera.