[To see photos and stories of this prairie in other years, go to the links on the main 3 Finger Valley page.]

These are views of 3 Finger Valley from the summer of 2000 when the field was planted in soybeans…

This is looking north into two of the fingers – the west finger on the left, and the middle finger on the right.  The trees at the right edge of the photo are the bottom of Hidden Oaks Point.

This is looking south toward Center Valley.

And this is looking north-east into Goldenrod Valley.  Goldenrod Valley is the continuation of this finger of the valley.  It starts beyond the big elm tree.

The center of the valley is low and weedy – the farmer left a stripe in the lowest area unplanted and unmowed – probably to prevent erosion. (You can see it in the center of the first two photos.) It’s mostly filled with Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica).