nor’ norwest

i have two boys who have dreams of alaska this year. they are watching the progression of coronoavirus with one eye, and with the other eye, they are glancing in a nor- norwesterly direction, with thoughts of uncomfortable camp mattresses, dolly varden, grizzly bears, and lots and lots of body odor in the cab of a truck. i will very happily stay home.

cut anthurium leaf

the devil

this is the root ball of a european buckthorn. if it looks devilish and dark, that may be coincidental, but it is certainly apropos. buckthorn is the bane of every hardwood forest in our region, dominating the understory of every untended woodlot, and driving out beloved natives with the relentlessness of its spread. if this were a horror movie, here is the scene where you see the monster for the first time, up close, dripping venom and slime, just begging to be killed by the hero.

buckthorn roots (Rhamnus)

selective depth of field

i spent my evening debating the relative aesthetic value of detailed structure versus the overall density of warm pink inflorescences. in the end, i picked the one i liked. take it or leave it.

hsmoketree/smoke bush (Cotinus)

whatever it takes

it was day something-something of quarantine, when she began cutting up the house plants, and talking to them like friends.

cut-up anthurium leaves 

scale

is this a stand of pruned winter poplars beside the highway against a white winter sky? or the slenderest of prairie stems viewed up close against a sheet of tagboard? up to you.

(unidentified) winter prairie stems