Not the “perfect storm” that many are suffering through today in this country. Instead the early morning saw the perfect winds needed to spread seeds that depend on gusts to break open pods and send their silky skirted seeds dancing through the air. Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) seeds floating through the air always remind me of Disney’s Fantasia scene, Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers.

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  The dancing Milkweed seeds begin about 2 minutes into the dance.

  

The prairie is known for its wind; even on still days I find it a game of patience to capture a plant’s likeness. The prairie plants are never still for more than a brief moment at a time. This morning was windy, so a challenge for portrait photography of a subject. What I enjoy is finding a subject that somehow is relatively still while surrounded by a blur of motion. The Milkweed is relatively sturdy compared to surrounding grasses so it appears there is more depth of field in the image than usual from my use of a long lens. The background yields a more out-of-focus appearance because of the plants’ continuous movements. The Goldenrod seed heads are also relatively sturdy so they appear more in focus in the background.