our daughter will be taking her driver’s license exam the morning of her 16th birthday this thursday morning. just remember, eva–red means stop. green means go. yellow means go faster.

red osier dogwood, yellow willow, green austrian pine needles

saint paul, minnesota

these tassels are hanging like cottony tinsel from all the poplar trees right now. they look a little forlorn hanging limp and gray from matte gray branches against a persistently gray sky. like somebody tried to throw an outdoor party and it rained on all the crepe paper streamers.

poplar catkins

vadnais lake, saint paul, minnesota

spring has gotten a little distracted this year.  sort of like my 10 year old joseph when you tell him to go brush his teeth. he manages to draw a monster or two in his journal, set a couple of beyblade tops spinning in the corner of his room, kill a bad guy or two with an imaginary sword or ray gun, eat some yogurt and an ice cream sandwich, ask me what i’m doing on the computer, and then curl up on the couch with book eight of guardians of ga’hoole, all without ever getting very close to a toothbrush. spring this year has displayed a similar lack of drive. maybe it’s still eating some kansas city barbecue, or some file gumbo. or maybe it got waylaid at graceland. or got close to minnesota and then drifted back down the mississippi like huck and jim. but it should be here by now. the forsythia should be in full bloom, and these red maple buds should have fallen to the ground, and the willows should be leafing out, not just bursting their buds. hey! spring! clap clap! time to focus! go. brush. your. teeth. now!

spring bouquet: weeping willow, forsythia, red maple buds, pussy willow, lilac buds

saint paul, minnesota

acorn sprouts. i have over 10,000 of these in my yard right now. the front yard is in every way a carpet of acorns. not a blade of grass in sight. these are the aftermath of the noisy hailstorms of falling acorns that pelted our roof all last fall. i pulled these few at random from one square foot. i was a bit surprised to see just how deep the tap roots had already gotten, considering we still had snow a week ago.

sprouted (white oak) acorns

saint paul, minnesota

“the ideal stage for eating cottonwood catkins, tempura style,  is when they have loosened and hang like delightful bunches of grapes, but have not yet flowered out.”  apparently i need to master the art of tempura batter. yesterday.

eastern cottonwood male flowers (catkins)

vadnais lake, saint paul, minnesota