red on a field of white

once again, it is the tiny bits of red that are capturing my attention in our frozen and mostly white norther landscape. withered crab apples, shiny clumps of high-bush cranberries, the bunched stems of red osier dogwood, and cardinals flitting among the cedar boughs. the eye catches on the vivid contrast. such a welcome sight in february.

red osier dogwood

triple wammy

still photographing the house plants. juggling care giving of my 84 year old mom, withe a new creative project. also, we are in single digit temperatures here in minnsota. far too cold for meandering walks. forecast is another week of sub-zero. and i am nearly out of house plants. will need to get creative…

paperwhites

why?

i realize as i look at this image that i really don’t understand bloom–that dusty white powder that grows on some stems like raspberry canes, and some fruits like plums. i really don’t know what purpose it serves, when it appears, or how long it stays. whatever the reasons, it always catches my eye. i love when i have a topic like that, narrow and specific, and i get to look forward to going down a rabbit hole with it for a happy 20 minutes or so…i’ll have to catch up with you tomorrow, i am off to google bloom.

unidentified winter stems

busy for all the right reasons

i am working on a project that is taking up most of my mental energy. i’ll share soon, i promise. anyways, as a result, i am very grateful when STILL blog subjects literally fall at my feet these days. these orchid blossom were lying on the kitchen floor under the orchid my mom bought my husband when his mother passed away this past august. that strikes me as a lot of emotional load for such delicate confetti.

dried orchid blossoms

hello umbels!

umbels make me happy. i love almost every plant that produces them. dill. fennel. queen anne’s lace. parsley. and i love the word. umbel. as soon as i hear it, i know what it looks like. i would be happy sheltering from a meadow downpour underneath an umbel.

pressed golden alexander (probably)