Photo focus: Invasive species in a new light

We'll start the new year with a couple of Kelly's photos from a walk we took on a 54-degree (F) day in January (!) along the Platte River by Kearney, NE.  Kelly enjoys finding texture and interesting light conditions.

Unfortunately, her subject this time is an aggressive, invasive species that causes pains of agony for managers along the Platte.  It sucks up tremendous amounts of water, and make impenetrable areas of vegetation.  Biologists have been resorting to using helicopters or aquatic 'tanks' to treat large areas with herbicide to stall the spread of Phragmites.

However, it turns out it can be quite photogenic.

Phragmites along the Platte River in Nebraska, January 2012 (photo by Kelly Powell).

Sunlight dances on the surface of the Platte River (photo by Kelly Powell).