Nature nerd Emily Bredthauer took the pictures enclosed below in April and May. (It’s better not to be too specific about the location of rare wildflowers.)

On a quintessential rainy April day, I traveled east hoping to see an early woodland wildflower I’d not beheld before: Prairie Trillium (Trillium recurvatum). “Thank you,” I couldn’t help but say quietly out loud as my eyes feasted on dozens of trilliums in all manner of early protuberance. As I looked and oohed and awed, the trees gently informed of the oncoming rain by the soft sound of drops on their newly grown leaves. The thunder kindly reminded me of the forecast. 

Already feeling successful in my day’s quest, I had no expectations for the next new-to-me trail. The scent of rich earth greeted me as I entered the woods. The rain had brought the color out in everything. The greens, browns, and oranges were outstanding in their vivid variety. 

I stopped to admire a very solid oak tree, gazing down at her feet where a very distinctive leaf caught my attention. Oval, like the leaves children might draw in pictures of daisies, with a thick pink petiole. The green stuck out from the orange and brown leaf collage of the forest floor. The identifier that confirmed the ID without a doubt, the conspicuous white parallel pinstripes. 

Nature nerd Emily Bredthauer took most of the pictures enclosed below between August 30 and October 4, 2025 in Story, Marion, and Dallas counties.

I feel so blessed when I come upon a plant I don’t recognize. It’s like a gift from the Universe, inviting my curiosity to be satiated by the endless wonder of the natural world.

In late August, Lobelia inflata was a gift from my rain-soaked sacrament—the very small lavender-colored flowers caught my eye amongst the bevy of bright green. 

Nature nerd Emily Bredthauer took the pictures enclosed below at Eddyville Sand Prairie on June 28, 2025.

“…the joy of prairie lies in its subtlety. It is so easy—too easy—to be swept away by mountain and ocean vistas. A prairie, on the other hand, requests the favor of your closer attention. It does not divulge itself to mere passersby.” ~ Suzanne Winckler (2004, Prairie: A North American Guide)

I am quite partial to a woodland. My ears long to be enchanted by the melody of a stream. I am most comfortable and familiar with the long shadows of trees and the scampering about of squirrels. During the long summer days, that’s where the mosquitoes most want to be too. So this summer, I have been checking out some prairies.

Nature nerd Emily Bredthauer took the pictures enclosed below at Cordova Park on September 22, 2024.

Cordova Park is a 1,050 acre area comprised of woodland, prairie, and bluffs overlooking Lake Red Rock in Marion County. Lake Red Rock was built in the 1960s as a flood control project on the Des Moines River. The namesake of Cordova comes from the small town that occupied the area from 1887-1962. The park boasts the tallest observation tower in a public park in the Midwest with the longest continuous fiberglass staircase in the world: The Cordova Tower. I was much more interested in what kind of plant life the park had to offer on the ground.

The plants documented below were blooming on the rocky shoreline of Lake Red Rock. I was pleasantly surprised by both the variety of wildflowers still blooming in late September and the indomitable nature of the plants that flourished along the craggy shore.