the collector’s table

every now and then i have to do a clean sweep, and clear my desk for a fresh start. and on those days, it has become a tradition to do a simple assemblage of the current flotsam and jetsam that has accumulated over the past season. the only difference is that today i had the keen and demanding eye of my 22 year old daughter eva to help me compose. thank you, sweetie.

snow in november

a blanket of it is coming this week. so i decided to make snowflakes out of the autumn forest floor, while it’s still visible. see you next year…

assemblage of found nature

hydrophobic

these are some pretty water beads on cattail leaves. or if you prefer to think of it another way . . . materials with a special affinity for water — those it spreads across, maximizing contact — are known as hydrophilic. those that naturally repel water, causing droplets to form, are known as hydrophobic. both classes of materials can have a significant impact on the performance of power plants, electronics, airplane wings and desalination plants, among other technologies. you can pick one or the other.

cattail leaves

exhale

it was a big day in america. i was a bit distracted all day. all i had in me was this swoop of a leaf, feeling itself, feeling a return of something that has been missing for a while, something like optimism.

prairie tall grass leaf

scribbled notes to the end of a season

today it reached 78 degrees in minnesota. this is usually the beginning of winter, but it looks a lot like summer. what do you call a season that is neither the season it should be, nor the season it looks like? i suppose you call it annus horribilus 2020. may it soon die a horrible death, and give birth to a regenerative 2021.

dried botanicals