In the Kingdom of Grass (Great Plains Photography Series)

In the Kingdom of Grass (Great Plains Photography Series) by Ross, Bob. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780803231597.

"The Nebraska sandhills are ancient sand dunes of mysterious origin that have been conquered and covered over by grass." Thus begins writer Bob Rosss description of this geologically and biologically unusual part of Nebraska. These dunes are no desert, though, but comprise some 20,000 square miles of both wetlands and rangeland - part-time home to the sandhill cranes and full-time grazing and feeding ground to herds of cattle. It is a place of startling contrasts: mountainous thunderclouds can dump tons of water on craters sandblasted out of the earth, transforming them into lakes, or pass maddeningly by, leaving the smoke of prairie fires: cruel winters can freeze livestock and chill the soul, and yet give way to gentle springs that bring forth delicate wildflowers and renew the spirit. In this volume of the Great Plains Photography Series, an acclaimed photographer and an award-winning writer combine their perspectives, acquired through intimate acquaintance with the sandhills. Margaret A. MacKichan lived with ten different families in north-central Nebraska over a period of two years. In sixty-five photographs, she shows us the open spaces and turns of the seasons of the sandhills, along with the ranching families, hired hands, and cattle buyers who inhabit the region. Bob Ross grew up in the town of Ainsworth, and in seven prose sketches gives a poignant and affectionate portrait of the loneliness and joys of small-town and ranch life.