the cattails have just reached the full height, way above my head. now they will begin to die back, and it will happen fast. the whole process takes place in three months.

cattail leaves

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota

i started a crazy project to make advent calendars using some of the nature specimens that are piling up around my house.  i am only making twelve calendars, and i completely underestimated the effort involved.  anyway, i am already up to day 20, which will be pressed fern leaves.  here they are all laid out waiting to go into the calendar.  you can get a glimpse of the calendar under the “shop” button above. it seemed like such a good idea at first, but alas, i am not going to sell these calendars–too labor intensive for commerce, too commercial for art. oh well.

pressed fern leaves from my yard

saint paul, minnesota

our house’s outer envelope is fairly porous in every season but winter. it does not contain us inside very well, nor does it keep out the neighbors, who wander in through open doors, and sometimes, as in the case of the red bellied snake last week, sun themselves on the carpet. Other times, our guests find dark corners, where other guests are already waiting for them.

daddy longlegs found in corners.

in and around my house, saint paul mn

i was cleaning up some of the specimens that tend to pile up on my desk. this was from a field pennycress that had dried with all the seeds still attached. the shape of the seed pods caught my eye. so i ran my thumb and index finger along the stems they way you would strip thyme from its stem. i stopped there.

field pennycress (thlaspi)

saint paul, minnesota