animal tracks in the snow

the squirrels are still fat from their autumn feasting. not yet curled up in their cozy dreys to wait out the worst of winter. grey squirrels breed twice a year. the first season is from december to february and the second season is from may to june. so, i suppose some them might be getting a little…careless. we have an abundance of hawks and owls. these are risky times.

squirrel tracks

zooming in and zooming out

looking at the tiny flowers in this photo makes me realize that nature’s beauty repeats no matter the scale–from macro to micro there is always beauty. harmony, balance, repetition, symmetry, surprise–they exist all along the spectrum. no matter where you focus your attention, it will always delight. a field of goldenrod in autumn…to the minute flowers on this single stem. it’s magnificent at every level.

winter goldenrod

what is it about ferns?

what is it that attracts so many of us to ferns? is the exquisite detail of the leaflets? or the mesmerizing repetition along the axis? or the feathery delicateness of the elongated fronds? or the abundant lushness? or the pleasing axial symmetry? or do they tickle some lizard-brain memories of the carboniferous swamps?  whatever it is, it all works on me. i can’t get enough of them. ever.

dried fern fronds

i like lichens

i had no idea what to say about lichens. so i did a little googling. here are some fun factoids:

• There are at least 13,000 species of lichens living throughout the world.
• Lichens are bizarre organisms and no two are alike.
• Lichens are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and an alga.
• Lichens produce their own food using sunlight energy and do not feed on the tree bark.
• Lichens cause no harm to the trees they inhabit.
• Lichens can survive the most unfavorable climatic extremes of arctic, alpine and desert regions by reducing metabolic activity for extended periods of time.
• Lichens are very sensitive to air pollution, and like canaries in coal mines, may serve as indicators of air quality.
• Lichens on healthy trees should be welcomed as likely positive indicators of lower levels of air pollution.

the answer is…

paper wasp nest. okay, you guys are really quite good. i did not think that yesterday’s challenge was at all obvious. especially with it taken out of context like it was.  so, check out this coincidence: yesterday while i was deconstructing my wasp nest and cutting my wasp paper circles on the kitchen floor, steve took our puggle jack for walk. while he was going up the driveway, he found a paper wasp nest in the middle of the driveway! this wasp nest. how weird is that? it is december in minnesota. there is 6 inches of snow on the ground. it all feels so random and yet significant at the same time. without his find, i wouldn’t have a nest to show you today because i had already deconstructed mine.  i’m curious, in general, do you lean coincidence or fate?

paper wasp best