Saturday, December 31, 2011

Diane's Clock ...

Time is something I obsess about when things aren't going well. I either have an overabundance of time or a lack thereof. The study of Time is called Horology and in 2012 that's my plan ... to study it so I can make better use of it.

Happy New Year 2012 from Kellers On The Prairie. Be safe tonight.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Saint Henry Sky Watch Friday ...

Good Morning World. The Catholic Church in Henry, South Dakota got a brand spankin' new red metal roof this fall. Talk about sharp ... I love it.

Merry Christmas from The Prairie. Around the world we are all looking for Santa at Sky Watch Friday.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

No Snow Sky Watch ...

What little snow we have had is nearly gone and the chances for a White Christmas aren't good. That's very rare here, in addition to temperatures in the high 30's. Yet we are all busy here on The Prairie with preparations for the Holiday.

I have just returned from a road trip with my friend Polly from Bainbridge Island, Washington. We drove from here to Cheyenne, Wyoming where our friend Theresa lives, then on to Boulder, Colorado to her place there for a long weekend. The three of us have not been together for almost 15 years, a class reunion or two ago. We met in the 7th Grade at Watertown Junior High School.

It's fantastic to be heading into Christmas after having had such a great vacation with these awesome Lady Friends. A refreshed perspective is always good this time of year.

Check out http://www.skyley.blogspot.com for another's comings and goings as well as their latest captures of this gorgeous sky God gave us to enjoy. I'm sure it's all good ...

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Sky Watch Friday ... What Is Art ?

My Letter To The Editor was printed in yesterday's Public Opinion.

The Northeastern Artists Network "Deck The Walls" annual Art Show took place here last weekend. If you took time to appreciate these artists, we thank you. Perhaps you saw the show while attending Laura Dahle's Empty Bowl Project which was held in conjunction and benefits People Against Child Hunger. If you did not attend, intentionally or otherwise, please consider these thoughts.

Art is the process of arranging items, with symbolic significance, in order to influence our senses, emotions, and intellect. Art is expressed through music, literature, movies, sculpture, painting, photography, carving, jewelry, glass works, pottery, collage, and fiber.

Long ago, art meant skill. That changed during the romantic period when it became "a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science." Finally, art is made with one purpose only: to stimulate thought and emotion.

I take the explanations of art from my dictionary, Google, and Wickipedia, to make my point: It's important. It's good stuff. It would not be aligned with Religion and Science if it were not.

To ignore Art is a mistake. To take it for granted is shameful. We should see it and dare to understand it. If we don't stimulate thought and emotion through Art generated in our world as well as our community, what are we doing ?

You may be a struggling wage earner with several jobs. You're a farmer, a highly paid executive, or a business owner. You govern us or sit on a board ... it matters not. If you fail to take an interest in the Art created in Watertown, you fail your community. You fail your world. You fail yourself.

Opinions make the world go round ... and so does Art. Check out Sky Watch Friday. It's your world. Photo: the old church turned welding shop, Tinkertown, South Dakota.


Thursday, November 10, 2011

What A Beautiful Mess I'm In ...


There is no better feeling than screaming down the highway and seeing something that takes your breath away. For me, it's a must stop situation. This happens to me often here on The Prairie. It's a rare occasion for me to ignore the call to capture a scene that may only last a moment or so.

This week it was a field of Sunflowers, under a wavy gravy sky west of Clark, South Dakota. And one lone Sunflower spoke to us all.

At Sky Watch Friday the Earth is calling to you from every corner.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

A Rare & Scientific Sky Watch Friday ...

These trees are ours. They border the north side of our 3.22 acres. The dirt belongs to a guy named Steve, who rents it out to a guy named Nathan. Nathan just harvested his wheat and what you see here, the soil, is all glacial debris that has traveled from Canada with the glaciers. It's very handy to be married to a Scientist.

A simple blue sky without clouds is rare here on The Prairie. Check out Sky Watch Friday where rare can sometimes be the norm ... or not.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Girlie Sky Watch Friday ...

Yesterday morning the Sun was a Girl. I knew that to the tips of my own Girlie toes.

I had to be in town early which gave me the opportunity to catch the band of fog that had rolled over the field of winter wheat and backed itself up to the morning Sun. I pulled over and hung out.


Like a Girl, you really don't know what's coming until you consider each and every element and emotion going on around her. On a good day you will see this ... her soft and feminine side surrounding her, and what appear to be flower petals around her face.

There are other sides to the story at Sky Watch Friday. Some feminine, some masculine. All created by someone who cared enough to stop, look, click and tell you all about it. http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Friday, October 21, 2011

Dot Your i's Sky Watch Friday ...

I took this photograph yesterday evening at a benefit for our Codington County Heritage Museum. Bernie Hunhoff, the founder of South Dakota Magazine, was the entertainment. He's a very funny guy and told some great stories on people from around here.

I really love the firey energy of the sun and sky in this photograph, along with the serenity of the water and the activity on the boat. This sunset formed pretty quickly and the sky went through quite a few very soft pastel changes after the sun was actually down.

Take a look at someone else's evening and find out what it meant to them at Sky Watch Friday. And don't forget to cross your t's too.

Friday, October 14, 2011

I Swear To God Sky Watch Friday ...

Half of my heart is back in Custer tumbling along with this vivid band of storm clouds. See 9 September for an additional view.

In this big beautiful world, no two photographers click alike ... see what I'm talking about at Sky Watch Friday.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

SDSU Sky Watch Friday ...

I typically find beautiful Architecture in this part of the world in the buildings along main streets of our small towns.

I visited the SDSU Campus yesterday and when the tower came out of the clouds at me I had to do a double take and say "whoa" ...
Built in 1929, the University’s most recognized symbol is the Campanile Tower. It was funded by Charles L. Coughlin, an electrical engineering graduate. Coughlin was president of Briggs & Stratton Corporation. Steven Briggs, inventor of the Briggs & Stratton engine, was a graduate as well.

The university's Dairy Plant invented Cookies & Cream ice cream : ) SDSU is also home to the Lady Jacks. More to come on them.
What else is out there, up in the sky? Find out at Sky Watch Friday around the world.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Life Lesson Sky Watch Friday ...

If more people would spend more time looking up, there would be less negative energy. Period. I shot this last month in The Badlands.

I am continually inspired by what I see in the Sky each and every day. My appreciation for what goes on up there has been finely tuned by Sky Watch Friday. Thanks to the Team and thanks to all of you.

Now get out there, look up, and Peace Out. http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Friday, September 23, 2011

Henry James Sky Watch Friday ...

"One ought to feel one's relation to things ... to others." At Sky Watch Friday we are doing just that.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Singing My Soul Sky Watch Friday ...

My soul singing Sky Watch photo tells you exactly what our days are now like, here on The Prairie. It's nearly Fall and there is so much to sing about. See what we sound like at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Storm In Custer State Park ...

Ron and I took an amazing 10 day camping trip to The Black Hills recently. Ruby Thursday came along and the three of us shared a tent behind Al, Cheryl, and Chris, in their luxurious Avignon with all of the conveniences necessary to take the bite out of "Roughing It". Our first evening there we took a beautiful drive to check out our surroundings. As we neared the turn into the campground the clouds around us moved together and formed this amazing spectacle. Al and I grabbed our cameras and began shooting. It was difficult to pick just one photograph for Sky Watch Friday. I chose this one for the effect of the trees on the mountain and how they matched the color of the clouds. I really do live an amazing life ... and if it's out there, I'm going to capture it. Check out Sky Watch Friday when you leave here. You have friends around the world who want to show you what they captured for you too.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Bad Lands ...

On the way home from our camping trip in Custer State Park we went through the Bad Lands. It was a drizzly day and the rain's moisture penetrated the colors in an amazing way. A few of my friends from Custer made their way into this photo. Love from The Prairie ... have a great Labor Day.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Simply Blue ...

The soft blue sky is a great backdrop to the vivid erosion of The Badlands. Just that. And it's great to be back home. See what your other peeps are up to at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Follow That Cloud Sky Watch Friday ...

I take all of my photographs in color these days but some of them are just meant to be black and white. I followed this amazing cloud two weeks ago, shooting around it as much as I possibly could. This one was taken at Lake Pelican near the end of the road we live on. It's in a show that will be up during the month of September at the Goss Opera House. It's called "Too Soon Moon" ... I love my job.

Check out http://www.skyley.blogspot.com You have more friends who also follow clouds all the way around the world.


Thursday, August 11, 2011

A Cloud In The Sky ...

My camera is a priority ... it goes most everywhere with me. I look at things before me, all around me, up above and down below me. I have an appreciation for most everything, especially if it is beautiful, interesting, funny, or sad ... the list of adjectives goes on and on. So when I take a photograph it's because I am on to something. And around the World there are people with cameras who think like I think and do what I do. See what they are on to at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Pa Ingalls Sky Watch Friday ...

Last week we took our friends Karen and Lee to DeSmet to see where Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up. Karen lives in China and Lee lives in Indianapolis. They both read these books as children and Karen actually learned to speak German by watching the Little House On The Prairie reruns while living there. I had a difficult time disassociating Michael Landon with the place. So here's one for Pa Ingalls ... the church on the road up to the Farm. See what your Earth family has to show and tell at Sky Watch Friday.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Scenography Sky Watch ...

The object in perspective here is what I believe to be a planet. You might see what it looks like from the other side at http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Friday, July 1, 2011

This Sky Of Mine ...

It follows me everywhere. Sky Watch Friday ... see where else it has been.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Roof Meets Sky ...

I visited my cousins on their Farm near Ipswich, South Dakota last weekend. We walked the property while the sun was setting on Saturday evening. I wandered off to find the soft light of the pastel sky and it's interesting contrast to the 100 year old roof of this building. SKY WATCH FRIDAY ...

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Wonder Of It All Baby, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ...

I am in love. My new Girlfriend's name is Bambette. She is beautiful and came through my back yard this morning while I was having coffee on the porch. She was nibbling on my white flowering crab apple tree. She can have it. Ron put a feeder out for her and filled it with corn. xoxo from The Prairie. Did I mention that I love my life?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Wow, Dad ...

I love you and I totally get the outfit. Happy Father's Day. xoxo.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Sky Watch Friday ...

I have perches. I go to them when the sky speaks to me. It can take me quite a while to arrive home when it's evening and I have been in town. All my Family needs to do to know where I am is to look up. My extended Family has been looking up too ... see what they came up with at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com. They are your Family too.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Pure Love ...

Here on The Prairie the first Peony to open is a big deal. They follow the Lilacs ... but it's not a competition. The Peony blossom sets a pattern for itself, and then does not follow. The frail layers, the color, the zest, the passion ... and the fragrance? Why that's the smell of Love.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Hey Woman ...

Let me know if you need anything. Mi casa su casa.

Monday, June 13, 2011

This Fragile Planet ...

I am an Episcopalian ... that's Catholic Lite, 1/3 less guilt. Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost, the birth of the church. We said a prayer for the Planet ... this is what the service meant to me. This is how I witness.

Friday, June 10, 2011

It's The Weekend Sky Watch ...

I am in a silly mood. It's going to last the rest of my life. I am certain. There are other skies and other moods around this silly world at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Flirting With Lucinda ...

I am a Rabbit. I have a clue for a friend ... it's east of Mount Rushmore.

I hide under these daisies because I am shy. I nibble on flowers that belong to someone I love. I don't nibble to anger her ... I nibble because I want her attention. So where was the cracked corn this winter ???

Friday, June 3, 2011

Riding With Grandma ...

One of my Grandmother's greatest joys in life was going for a ride in the country. After loosing her husband as a young wife, she moved her children into town from off of the farm and went to work for Herberger's.

She managed the china and housewares department, so my Grandma, Marie Van Sickle, knew all of the brides in town. She also stocked many a kitchen through the 40's, 50's and 60's. She loved Farberware, Corelle, and little paring knives
.

When I see a scene like this on The Prairie I think of riding in her light blue Ford Fairlane, traveling the gravel roads north of town. It's summer. The sun is setting. And there is a Zesto vanilla ice cream cone in my future.

Check out another summer story at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com It's your planet ... get to know it.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

No Contest ...

If I were a handsome Rabbit at lunch time on The Prairie and I could munch this beautiful Gazania blossom instead of a piece of tree bark, no doubt, I would choose the blossom. Lucinda B. Rabbit might want to join me. She would be impressed by the crunchy texture of the Gazania's center followed by it's sweet tart petals. Maybe she would want to see more of me. A handsome Rabbit can only dream of her soft Bunny nose as it twitches. She doesn't even know me.

Friday, May 27, 2011

What Goes Up Sky Watch ...

Most of my backyard sunsets are incredibly interesting. Many of my sunsets are spectacular. I call them mine because they happen in my backyard. Your Peeps at Sky Watch Friday are covering the rest of the Planet. http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Monday, May 23, 2011

Lettuce In A Pot ...

I love lettuce. The rabbits around here love it too ... and the German Shepherd here on The Prairie can only do so much. Sioux Valley Nursery is selling pots of lettuce that are ready to eat. You cut the 6 mixed varieties down right away and eat them so that you will have more in 10 days. So far so good and there is plenty coming right back. Isn't it beautiful? Sorry rabbits.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Sky Watching ...

Feeding the world is a responsibility we take seriously here on The Prairie. We watch the skies for plenty of sun and the perfect amount of rain. 480 acres of wheat surround us and the vegetable garden that Mister Keller planted yesterday. Drops of rain fell through the night and everything is just as it should be. Unless, of course, the world ends this afternoon ... In that case, you might want to check out skies around the world at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Just Sitting There Looking Pretty ...

I am crazy about editing and bringing many of my photographs to a totally different level from where they begin. Many of my shots need that because I take them that way. Sometimes I already know what's going to happen.

And then I take photographs like this ... enter the Columbine. It was sitting there inside it's warm and humid nursery surroundings. The light did not appear to be anything very special. But the detail of this Colorado flower, particularly it's very dramatic tail, always photographs well. I took just this one, primarily for it's "just sitting there" beauty and gave it one layer of an antique effect.

I love it. And I am going to apply the "just sitting there" beauty theory to more of the things I see.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Setting Sun Sky Watch ...

The leaves on my western shelter belt trees are busy turning green. Spring winds push the clouds along from there to here. My porch provides a perfect spot to catch this vivid entertainment. On Sky Watch Friday I'm paying attention for all of us ... and I love taking my editing up a notch or two just for you. No link to other posts today due to technical issues. Have a great weekend. xoxo from The Prairie.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

What I Like About Me Sky Watch ...


I like that I save things. I have been saving, as opposed to hoarding, all my life. For the past month I've been working on going through those awful cardboard boxes labeled "Momentos" ... my Boyfriend has been going though the photographs and slides. We are no longer cluttered. We are close to being a family of recycled plastic tubs with labels. Oprah would be proud. There are Sky Watch photographers and their stories at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Monday, April 25, 2011

Baby Goat Love ...

This adorable baby boy Goat, just five days old, snuggled up against my bare neck last week. He lives at Sioux Valley Nursery. My Spring is really just beginning here on The Prairie. And everything old is truly new again at Easter.

Friday, April 22, 2011

No Snow Sky Watch Good Friday ...

The Prairie has the most beautiful and fertile soil on the Planet. So when that soil has been covered with snow for a good long while I can't help but notice its beauty in the Spring. While last years corn stalks are still standing, making up the hint of brown, underneath it is jet black. The clouds gather in the distance to complete the picture.

On the other side of the Planet there is another picture and another story from someone else who wants to show you their Sky. http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Deep Sigh ...

I stopped in Sioux Valley Nursery this afternoon for the first time this season. I've been decluttering at my house so I wasn't ready to buy anything. I'm focused on Easter Week and having a great Spring and Summer. The Gardenias smelled just as heavenly as they looked.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Spring Sky Watching ...

Although there is actually a nice Wintery Mix in our forecast. Mother Nature is a tease. See what she's up to on the other side of the Earth at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Friday, April 8, 2011

Snow Means Water Means Life Lesson ...

I have been photographing this grove of trees for almost 4 years. The melted snow has become what appears to be a new lake. What remains appears to be a shore. As for the sky ... this is likely the last of the wintry clouds. They have become big, puffy, and rolling for summer. They have to do that. It's their job.

There is a lesson here ... don't take a thing for granted. Things can change in an instant. Take a look at skies around the world today, at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

They won't look like this again.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Pop Corn Geranium ...

I have a Sun Porch full of Geraniums. I buy them in Spring for my tall black pots along the garage. I can't stand to let them go in the Fall so I cut them all back, dig them all up, and move them all indoors ... thinking all the while that I'll put them back in the Spring. But I don't. Sioux Valley Nursery opens this weekend. And Geraniums will be the first thing I buy.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Sky Watch Friday ...

A group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle; when geese fly in formation they are called a wedge or a skein. There's a whole lot of shakin' going on here on the Prairie ... and it's Spring around the World at http://www.skyley.blogspot.com

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Raspberry Cheese Pie ...

This is for F. Carter Smith ... from my Junior League of Houston Star of Texas Cookbook.

Make your own crust from a box (6-3/4 oz) graham crackers, 2/3 cup sugar and a softened stick of butter. Roll the crackers with a pin and combine with sugar and butter. Press firmly and evenly into the sides and bottom of a 9" pie plate and refridgerate for an hour.

Make the filling in a blender after preheating the oven to 375. Add 1.5 hunks of softened cream cheese (12 oz), 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and a dash of cinnamon. Whirrrrrrrrrr it for at least a minute and fold in the raspberries gently by hand with a wooden spoon. Pour into the crust, bake for 20 to 25 minutes and cool. It should just be starting to get a little browned in a few places.

Make the topping with 2 cups of sour cream, 3 tbs sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Spread over the cooled pie and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Refrigerate for as long as you can stand ... my minimum is a few hours and it's still going to be a little runny. Seriously, it's better if you wait a day.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Resurrecting Memories ...

I'm going to stay OUT of the moment for a while. My feet are really not tanned and dusty these days. And there isn't a thing in my Garden that's green. But I was going through photographs today and couldn't leave this one behind.