"In the great and wide-open Plains of North Dakota, we often find islands of land that are different from the surrounding prairie. Many of these islands are being turned into recreation areas.
One of those places is the updated Sullys Hill National Game Preserve near the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation and looming above the water of Devils Lake. Devils Lake is largest lake in North Dakota and holds Sullys Hill in a crooked hand. The game preserve has turned into a beautiful place for birding and discovering prairie and forest.
Late last week, I took part in the Eighth Annual Sullys Hill Birding and Nature Festival.
Rain had drenched the area for some weeks, pushing water into the Devils Lake outlet and filling every small pool and waterhole in the park to capacity. These downpours also turned the forest into a vibrant, emerald green. The floor of the forested area was like a soft carpet with grasses and broadleaf sarsaparilla plants blanketing every space beneath the trees. The contrast between the dark tree trunks and the green was stunning.
Two deer stood stock-still as my car approached. I had to smile at them. I suppose they thought they were well-hidden, but their tawny brown coats against the green made them stand out like a red cardinal would in this green land. In one of the small ponds, several tiny, baby ducklings paddled with all their might away from my car and toward their mother."
Get the Story:Dorreen Yellow Bird: Enjoying festival days and prairie nights (The Grand Forks Herald 6/20)
pwpwd More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
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Yellow Bird: Monarch butterfly a special creature (6/13)
Yellow Bird: Graduates inspire with their lives (6/6)
Yellow Bird: Meth walks our reservations (6/4)
Yellow Bird: Commercials influence our lives (5/30)
Yellow Bird: Remember heroes on Memorial Day (5/28)
Yellow Bird: Blogger lacks facts about Indian life (5/22)
Yellow Bird: Indian culture changes in subtle ways (5/16)
Yellow Bird: Wolf knew it was ready to cross over (5/14)
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Yellow Bird: Indian women and spiritual leadership (5/7)
Yellow Bird: Tighten gun control laws in North Dakota (5/3)
Yellow Bird: Easy ways at becoming more green (4/30)
Yellow Bird: School shootings just don't 'happen' (4/18)
Yellow Bird: The Red River Valley Flood of 1997 (4/9)
Yellow Bird: Women of color share their views (4/5)
Yellow Bird: UND powwow needs your support (4/2)
Yellow Bird: UTTC begs for funding year after year (3/26)
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Yellow Bird: Return land to North Dakota tribe (3/12)
Yellow Bird: Native Media Center at UND prospers (3/7)
Yellow Bird: Woody Keeble a true American hero (3/5)
Yellow Bird: Cell phone addiction affects driving (2/28)
Yellow Bird: UND has many reasons to be proud (2/26)
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Yellow Bird: US automakers ignore innovation (2/19)
Yellow Bird: Tribes should snuff out smoking too (2/14)
Yellow Bird: On being Black or Indian 'enough' (2/9)
Yellow Bird: Braving the cold North Dakota winter (2/5)
Yellow Bird: Chokecherry for North Dakota state fruit (1/31)
Yellow Bird: Name-calling and bullying in schools (1/24)
Yellow Bird: Climate change impossible to ignore (1/17)
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