Earth Day on the Prairie

Sometimes, the best moments in nature don’t come when you go looking for them — they happen when you’re just out in the middle of things, going about your day, and the sky decides to put on a show. That’s what happened here. The storm had just passed — one of those fast-moving prairie storms that seem to come out of nowhere and roll on just as quickly. The wind settled down, the light started to shift, and suddenly this rainbow appeared. Actually, two rainbows. A full arc stretching across the entire pasture, like it had been quietly waiting behind the clouds the whole time. It was the kind of moment that makes you stop and take a breath. The cows kept grazing, completely unfazed. That part made me smile. There’s something grounding about animals — they’re not impressed by rainbows or dramatic skies. They just focus on the next mouthful of grass. Still, their calm presence in the middle of all that color and light made the whole scene even better. It felt steady, real — a reminder that nature isn’t something separate from everyday life. It’s right there, in the middle of it.

That’s kind of what Earth Day means to me. It’s not just about the big-picture issues you hear about on the news — it’s about paying attention to the land right in front of you. It’s also about remembering the quiet value of the land itself and how much it gives us, how much it grounds us. Especially in places like this — open spaces where the sky feels bigger and time moves a little slower.

This photo is a reminder of that. It's not dramatic in the usual way. It’s not a mountaintop or a coastline. It’s just a pasture. A few cows. A couple of trees. Some tall grass starting to turn golden. But it’s beautiful in its own way — calm, solid, and a little bit magical when the light hits it right. I think we all get busy and distracted, and it’s easy to overlook scenes like this. But they matter. The everyday landscapes — the ones that don’t ask for attention but deserve it anyway — are just as important as the postcard places. They feed people, they hold stories, they remind us of our connection to something bigger.

So on this Earth Day, I’m not trying to say anything fancy or poetic. Just this: it’s worth slowing down and noticing. Whether you’re in the middle of nowhere or standing in your backyard, the Earth’s got a way of showing up — sometimes in the form of a rainbow that catches you off guard, sometimes in the rhythm of grazing animals, or the way the light changes after a storm. Pay attention. It’s worth it.