season opener

the snow has finally melted from all my favorite walking trails. jack (aka puggle) is thrilled. as am i. today i grabbed these late winter stems as i walked and marveled at the number of birds that migrate to or through minneosta each spring and fall–somewhere between 400-500 species i believe. today the eastern bluebirds and hooded mergansers caught my attention. this bouquet is about 1 meter tall and yet it felt almost weightless in my hands it is so dry. one of my daily frustrations with STILL is that i have to downsize the resolution of each image before i post it to the blog (otherwise STILL would take eternity to load). but it means that an image like this one, with so much texture and detail, loses a little of its magic in the process.

bouquet of late winter stems