Nine Mile Prairie is one of Lincoln’s little known hidden gems. It is one of the largest tracts of virgin prairie remaining in eastern Nebraska. I have photographed frequently at Nine Mile Prairie, beginning in the 1980s when the University of Nebraska-Lincoln first acquired the 230-acre property from the Lincoln Airport Authority.

Over the years I’ve been drawn to the springs, seeps and draws that make Nine Mile topographically varied. It is these places, where water can be found, that many creatures are also drawn to and depend upon. The closed in, intimate, almost romantic nature of these landscape features appeals to me. Dave Wedin, the University’s Nine Mile advocate, tells me that I never really left behind the Hoosier woodlands of my youth to become a true grasslands denizen. Tru Dat. I particularly like to visit some of the old cottonwood trees that are about as old as I am. . . .

I tend to go to Nine Mile in poor weather, on cloudy damp days. The soft light is more interesting, and the photos will have a quality of mood and character not seen on the nice days. A usual added benefit is solitude.

My trips to the prairie offer me the blessing of being at peace physically, a calming of the mind, all the while wandering about looking closely, noticing what I’m noticing, in a natural setting that has been evolving since the last glaciers retreated.

I think that these photographs are fundamentally about accepting the inevitable, that which we all must face.