anonymous winter stems

anonymous winter stems

I have been trying to ID this plant for about a month. I so wish that plant books would include the winter version of the plant as well as the spring and summer photos and descriptions. I am 99% certain in identifying this plant as rough bugleweed, a native wetland plant. The dots, which look like burs are called persistent calyxes. I looked at the stems and I saw dots and dashes, which reminded me of morse code, so I was going to write you all an asemic love letter, but I got distracted by the details of the calyxes, so I ended up with this photo. Which pleased me quite a bit.

Lycopus asper (Rough Bugleweed)

  • celia says:

    Perhaps your next book is on the wintering lives of plants. :)

    reply

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shadow side

shadow side

Everything has a shadow side. Even overwhelmingly positive events–like publishing a book–have shadow sides. My current shadow side is the irony of publishing a book about stillness–about slowing down, looking at one thing at a time, being present in the moment–only to have so many demands on my time that stillness and slowness are nearly impossible. I am not stressing about this, as I feel okay with all the seasons of life, and now is my season for a certain kind of busy-ness. But I think the irony is funny. I write a book called STILL, only to end up (at least temporarily) anything but still. Everything has a shadow side.

cottonwood leaves in winter

  • Old Lady Gardener says:

    Exhilarating and exhausting! Treasure every moment and don’t forget to b-r-e-a-t-h-e. STILLness will return :)

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iny dancers

tiny dancers

My bestie, Kristin, on a whim bought us tickets to a dance performance for Sunday afternoon. I almost never go out to see dance. So, I was both excited and a little apprehensive. Guys! It was superb. I was enthralled. It was a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana by the Minnesota Dance Theatre in conjunction with the Minnesota Chorale. What a thrill! The music, the movement, the staging, the singing. A fest for for my senses. My well will be filled for weeks.

dried orchid flowers

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infraordinary

infraordinary

Have you heard the term infraordninary? Coined by French philosopher Georges Perec in 1973, it’s based on the idea that some things become so familiar, that we actually stop seeing them at all. The are so invisible they are below the ordinary—or infraordinary.  Worn invisible by daily use, we no longer see what we are habituated to. This is the sphere of daily existence that lies beneath notice or comment. Today we use the terms sleep-walking or autopilot to describe this state of being. Perec believed that by paying attention to these ordinary experiences, we could find meaning and richness in our daily lives. I agree with him.  STILL, for me, became the practice I use to snap myself out of this state, into the present moment with all it’s wondrous detail. And on the days when I find to most mundane, the least promising, the most infra-ordinary subjects, and make something interesting with them. These are my most rewarding STILL days.

*This is the point in winter that most of the stems still standing have been bent by wet snow, and wind whipped into tatters. They line our road sides. Our parking lot edges, our boulevards and medians. They are everywhere. And yet we hardly notice them. But starting now, I am quite certain, you will :-)

winter tall grass stems (bluestem? switchgrass?)

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partly sunny

partly sunny

I had dinner guests coming at 5 PM tonight. We have started a tradition of Friday night pizza and hot sauce. Our local low-brow frozen pizza is called Heggie’s. So Friday night is Heggie’s and Hot Sauce at our house. It’s stupid good. And word has gotten out…so we usually have guests. At 4 PM, I sat down to write this post. At 4:05 PM an old friend from college called. Now it is 10 PM, which is a good hour past my witching time. So, this is all I got by way of words today. I do like my circle of hydrangea florets though. So at least there’s that.

winter hydrangea florets

  • Old Lady Gardener says:

    Yes, your circle of hydrangea bits is quite satisfying and uplifting. And such rich colors, all things considered.
    Don’t be surprised if I show up at your doorstep one Friday night, lol!

    reply
    • Ginny! I would welcome you with open arms! Truly.
      Heggie’s and Hot Sauce is worth the trip. #justsaying

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