A Tribute to Bette

My neighbor, Bette, used to cross-country ski up to her mailbox every winter morning to get the paper. She did this well into her 80s. She passed away recently and the funeral was last week. Her daughter, who is moving into Bette’s house and will now be my new neighbor, offered me a Peace Lily plant she received at the memorial because the plant apparently is toxic to her cats. By the time it came into my possession, the leaves were a little droopy due to lack of water. I thought they made a fitting tribute to the memory of Bette. Rest in Peace, Bette.

peace lily leaf

Make a Frame. Break a Frame.

“Make a frame. Break a frame.” is one of my favorite compositions tips I share during my workshops. So this is me, heeding my own advice.

broken box of assorted dried green botanicals

Seeds and Seedpods

Seedpods are a favorite subject of mine. And milkweed may be near the top of that esteemed list–the STILL Subjects List. It’s hard to believe there is milkweed around in early spring that still has seeds still in the pods, but I just found this sturdy patch of milkweed on the way to pick up my car from the autobody shop–in other words, along the edge of a little used frontage road. Perhaps the relative isolation and lack of traffic protected the stems long enough to get through the winter mostly intact. Now, with the spring rains, seems a the perfect time to let those seeds loose. I plan to push a few into the ground around my yard, but the reality is I still have very little full sun. Even after the house fire, that took down several large trees near the house, it’s still a mostly shaded yard.

It is T minus 10 days to the end of Tax Season. In our house, that is surest Sign of Spring of all. IYKYK.

winter milkweed stems with seedpods, seeds, and floss

Migration Begets Catkins

I found these mallard feathers in March. March is the month of Migration. The Spring Return often starts with the waterfowl first–geese, ducks, swans, osprey, eagles, herons, gulls, etc. As soon as the edges of the lakes start to melt, the waterfowl return.

April is the month of Catkins. And May is the month of Spring Ephemerals. Then it’s summer and all hell breaks loose.

female mallard feathers

The Specimen Table

This is my box of bits: my favorite specimens I’ve collected over the past several months. It usually lives on my “specimen table,” which is really half of my dining room table. When it gets too crowed, I sweep up all the bits into a box and either put them back outside or place them in a dark corner of the basement to be used for future workshops and classes. Sometimes I get stopped in my tracks by how beautiful it all is.

bits and pieces of foraged nature