before falling, these milkweed leaves arrived at colors that are almost defined by what they are not. not quite green. not quite yellow. not quite brown. not quite orange. apricot? avocado? ochre? they look almost tropical for minnesota. i love their banana-leaf sheen and their fish-skeleton ribs and spines.

milkweed

saint paul, minnesota

wooly bear caterpillars are undulating slowly across sidewalks and bike paths everywhere, like rusty, pulsing bottle brushes. they refuse, despite our folk-wisdom attempts to employ them as barometers, to predict any weather at all. what they do quite reliably is to undulate slowly across sidewalks and bike paths, and, when prodded, to contract into bristly, rust-colored pillows.

woolly bear caterpillar

rice creek regional trail, saint paul, minnesota