bulrush, reedmace, reed, cattail, punks, cumbungi, bulrush, cattail, raupo

as a thumbnail on my imac desktop, this image looks a lot like a tear in white paper. that has to be symbolic of something. the tear in the fabric of our society? a tear in the polar ice caps? a tear in the white history of our nation? or is it a tear at all? is it just a winter cattail looking tired but strong after one hell of a year?

winter cattail

surgeon’s hands

pretend this is a vertical stack, perfectly balanced. you have to pull one stick and leave it standing. it can’t be among the top five. good luck.

winter spotlight

when winter takes away the distraction of leaves, the beauty hidden beneath summer’s greenery can finally be seen. so good to see you again. it’s been a whole year.

winter weeds

panes

another exercise in negative space. try not to see forking angelica stems. try instead to see clear white panes of a leaded glass window. happy sunday.

angelica stem in winter

take 2

yesterday’s gradient of curly dock revisited. i felt a close-up was worthy so you could see the exquisite detail in these seed clusters. the seeds are encased in the calyx of the flower that produced them. this casing enables the seeds to float on water and get caught in wool and animal fur, and this helps the seeds to spread to new locations. tiny one-man boats. ingenious. nature. you’re so good.

dried curly dock (Rumex crispus)