inescapable

this year dock has been inescapable along the roadsides of the twin ciites. it has been a strange, hot, humid, rainy summer, so i don’t know if there has been more dock than usual due to a different weather pattern, or whether i have just noticed them more. as i researched this post, i discovered that dock is in the same family as sorrel. one of my favorite meals when we are in france is a sorrel omelet. the sorrel has a sort of astringent, lemony flavor, and tonight i made the connection, that dock leaves have that same acidic sort of astringency. of course they are related. although it took STILL blog to bring this to my attention. thank you, STILL blog. for this and so many other things.

flowers of curled dock (Rumex L.)

bones bones, old bones, stiff old bones

greg brown has a great song about growing old, called “bones bones.” the chorus goes, “bones, bones, old bones, stiff old bones.”  today i got a cortisone injection in my foot, which has begun to fall prey to arthritis, which of course interferes with my daily habit of walking trails with my puggle and looking for nature to photograph. so tonight, as the swelling from the injection hurts me with every step i take, i am thinking, long term, about walks in vineyards this fall with healthy feeling feet, but short term, i’m mostly just thinking about my bones, bones, old bones, stiff old bones.

trumpeter swan wing 

jester’s hat

i mostly like to see this flower in late summer because i know our bees love it, although they are currently in the midst of making more honey than we will be able to handle this year. they appear to have found their happy place down by the lake, and (not surprisingly) surrounded by woods, diverse plant life, and zero pesticides. i’m putting on my mental jester’s hat this morning, to celebrate with our resident bee balm, one small corner of the world where bees are thriving.

bee balm (monarda)

my heart is aflutter

last night before bed, i told my husband, on the subject of today’s art sale, that i couldn’t imagine i would sell all of my prints. i was actually a little annoyed with his breezy optimism. not angry, just, “come on, let’s be reasonable.” and then i arrived at 8 am for today’s art sale at tangletown gardens, with the event starting at 9, and by 8:15 I had sold two prints and a box of cards. and then all day long, old friends showed up, and new friends showed up, and instagram friends showed up, and friends who were out of town and couldn’t be there texted and emailed to ask for their favorite prints. by the end of the day, i was exhausted, and sold out, and happy somewhere deep for the community that has been so kind as to surround me with support and love. thank you all.

red firebush leaves 

all of summer on a single day

the fact that this branch appears to encapsulate all of summer at one time is a coincidence. but i will be participating today, saturday, in an event that also feels like all of summer in one day. if you are in the twin cities i’d love to have you stop by. i will be at tangletown gardens all day long, from 9 am to 4 pm, as the featured artist for this year’s Garden, Art, & Music event. i will be selling a limited selection of prints of my images, as well as boxed sets of hand-picked photo cards. it looks like a sunny summer day. there will be a self-guided tour of some of the most beautiful private gardens in minneeapolis, and at the end of the day, there will be food and live music right across the street at wise acre eatery, one of the twin cities’ most delicious and ethical local-food restaurants. as i said, all of summer in one day. come celebrate, and come say hi!