The Prairie Forager

02/10/2026

02/08/2026

Who is the dog on the logo? It’s Jake. Today he is watching the Puppy Bowl.

02/06/2026

Stewardship often looks like doing less, not more. And sometimes it looks worse before it gets better.

At Prairie Forager, land management isn’t about forcing outcomes—it’s about creating the right conditions and letting natural systems do the work. That means minimal disturbance, native-first planting, and patience over quick results.

Healthy prairie systems evolved with deep roots, diverse species, and seasonal rhythms. When we constantly till, spray, or “tidy up,” we interrupt those processes. When we step back—strategically—the soil rebuilds, water infiltrates more effectively, and wildlife returns.

Stewardship is a long game. The goal isn’t instant perfection, but steady progress toward resilient land that can support pollinators, wildlife, and future generations. Sometimes the most responsible action is knowing when not to intervene.

01/28/2026

Snow is a great way to highlight those heavily traveled game trails. The ones that have been there for years and generations of wildlife.

01/28/2026

Do bees hibernate?
Not exactly—but they do have an incredible strategy for surviving winter.

Honey bees stay active all winter long inside the hive. Instead of hibernating, they form a tight cluster around the queen and generate heat by vibrating their flight muscles. By rotating positions from the outside to the inside of the cluster, they can keep the center of the hive warm—even when it’s freezing outside.

The bees that survive winter are actually different from summer bees. Winter bees are physiologically built to live much longer, with larger fat bodies that help them store energy, regulate immunity, and sustain the colony until spring.

Their fuel source is the honey they stored during the growing season. Every warm day in summer and fall is preparation for winter survival. If a hive doesn’t store enough food, it doesn’t matter how mild the winter is—the bees won’t make it.

Native bees use different strategies. Many overwinter underground, inside hollow plant stems, or beneath leaf litter. This is why leaving natural debris on the landscape matters—it’s not messy, it’s habitat.

At Prairie Forager, winter reminds us that pollinator health is a year-round responsibility. What we leave standing—and what we leave alone—can make all the difference.

01/26/2026

Winter might seem like an odd time to plant seeds—but for native prairie plants, it’s perfect.

Frost seeding takes advantage of natural freeze–thaw cycles. As the ground freezes at night and thaws during the day, tiny cracks open in the soil, pulling native seeds down into good soil contact. This mimics how prairie plants have successfully reseeded themselves for thousands of years.

Many native species also require cold exposure to germinate. That period of winter cold—called stratification—signals to the seed that it’s safe to grow when spring arrives. Without it, some seeds may stay dormant for an entire year or longer.

At Prairie Forager, frost seeding isn’t just a technique—it’s a reminder that working with nature often means slowing down and trusting the process. By letting winter do the work, we set the stage for stronger, more resilient native plants come spring.

01/24/2026

Today I split out some wood for our outdoor fireplace and our rocket stove. I realized this is most likely my last load of wood in Alabama. I use the solar energy in the shed to dry out the wood.

01/21/2026

Most people think of prairie as “just grass.”

In reality, native prairie is one of the most complex and productive ecosystems in North America.

Tallgrass prairie is made up of hundreds of plant species—deep-rooted grasses, flowering forbs, and seasonal bloom cycles that support pollinators, birds, soil life, and wildlife. Those roots can extend several feet underground, building soil, holding water, and storing carbon.

Tallgrass prairie in Nebraska has been reduced to a tiny fraction of its original extent. Due largely to agriculture and development, only about 2 percent of Nebraska’s original tallgrass prairie remains today, with most remnants small and fragmented across eastern Nebraska.

01/17/2026

The seasons bring all types of weather to the prairie. The prairie today is seen as peaceful and beautiful. When the pioneers approached the prairie it was a massive challenge. A challenge that could be deadly with extreme weather. As the climate cycles, those events have changed. Yet we can see into the windows of the past.

In the days of the past, the houses didn’t have insulation, double pane windows, and weather stripping. Electric or gas furnaces and water heaters.

The lack of wood made homes difficult to build and difficult to heat. Sod homes were made from the prairie. They provided insulation in the sod. Most didn’t have windows and the door was almost worthless.

Those who did this made the way for us.

01/16/2026

The American Chestnut tree was once the most abundant trees in the Eastern United States. The giant Chestnut trees reached over 100 feet tall. And easily rivaled the Redwood forests in California. The Chestnut blight in the early 1900s killed over 3 billion trees erasing them from forests and the landscape.

01/12/2026

Gathering wild foods in Nebraska is not just a spring, summer or fall outdoor activity.

If you have basic knowledge of specific plants, bundle up with the proper clothing and put forth the effort to find and correctly harvest them, you'll enjoy a variety of nutritious foods, even in the winter.

Read "Winter Foraging for Edible Wild Plants" here: https://brnw.ch/21wYZZ2

📝&📸: Greg Wagner

01/09/2026

You don’t get to see the whole deer, but what you do see is impressive. It’s also very shiny.