As the summer gave way to fall late season flowers burst with some great color tempting me to point the camera towards them. There may not be as many plants blooming but those that are stand out reminding us that the cold is still a little ways away.

While exploring a nearby prairie area I came across a lone flowers spike arising from some grass which caught my attention because not only is it the only grass in bloom in that area but it had a beautiful purple color which I don’t usually see. It made me wonder if the color was more intense because it was blooming during cooler weather. Typically this would bloom during the summer when things are warmer.

Fall is a time full of Goldenrod on the prairie or in fields. I wanted to catch a bee climbing around the bright yellow blooms but was surprised at how difficult that turned out to be as there weren’t as many bees flying around as I’m used to seeing. I’ve heard bee populations have been decreasing causing a lot of concern but there was a drastic reduction with all of the Goldenrod flowers providing so much food in the area.

Most of the asters I came across this fall were varying shades of purple but occasionally a white one would stand out. Surrounded by the purples and golds of other fall flowers they made a beautiful contrast to the prairie.

While looking over some purple asters there would be these flower flies climbing up and over the flowers in search of newly released pollen. They provided some entertainment and challenge to get them in focus as they move quickly away from the lens. While taking pictures of milkweed seeds I found a milkweed bug lacking the vibrant black bands just hanging from seeds. It blended in very well with the white fluff allowing these seeds to fly in the wind.

It kind of feels like going full circle capturing images of the early spring blooms and ending with the last flowers of the 2016. I’ve definitely had some fun photographing them this year.