on collecting

here are the things i routinely pick up on my daily walks: pine cones, feathers, bones, seeds and seed pods, and if i am on a beach, shells and drift wood, sea glass and beach rocks. obviously, i pick up a whole lot more than that. but those are this things i pick up with the intention of adding to my collections. all the rest get photographed, and then returned to the woods. recently, i was asked to do a series of photos of pine cones for a restaurant commission. i was ready for it.

assorted pine cone collection (minnesota, california, southern france)

before and after

this is the dried after photo of the barberry branches i posted eleven days ago. it has its own charm. not quite as much as the fresh-cut branches, but still it works. often, actually usually,  i like the dried “after” photos better than the originals. this time…well, you tell me?

dried autumn barberry branches

prevailing winds

i was on the freeway the other day and saw a patch of roadsidia that looked like mid-september–sunflowers, aster, and thistle–all still in bloom. funny how this one tiny patch of roadside flora, among all the miles i drove that day, was the only spot to not get the memo that the party was over. i guess, someone has to be the last to leave.

dried october daisy

autumn confetti

capturing the last bits of autumn color before frost turns it all brown.

autumn leaves

pink hair

i was surprised to see these foxtail grasses on the roadside today, glinting in the afternoon sun. i guess i associate them with summer. anyway, that hint of pinky-purple you can see in the hairy fluff was lit up by the sun, and these long haired beauties looked like all the other teenagers who are dying their hair such fun colors these days. why not?

foxtail barley grasses in october (Hordeum jubatum)