this stem has been sitting in a ball jar on my table since last summer.  it is has held up impressively well for something meant to disperse with the wind.

goat’s beard seed cluster

saint paul, minnesota

so here is a mediterranean doric column covered with boreal forest lichens.  my two favorite regions on earth in one image.

lichen covered limb

rice creek regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

today when i went out for my daily walk, i had it in mind that i would look for something, anything, green. it has been a long run of brown twigs and seed pods.  well, i found some green on my walk, some interesting lichens on a very old branch.  which i will share with you tomorrow.  because, after i got home, i saw that my intrepid little fig tree tucked away in the corner of my dining room had some brand new limey-green leaves catching the afternoon sun.  green was under my nose the whole time.

fig tree, new growth

saint paul, minnesota

i am working on some product concepts with a friend.  these wooden discs are some of our sample materials.  i cut them myself.  once they dry, they will be painted  bright colors like light blue and turquoise to complement the wood.  but i like this composition so much as is that i may need to make a shadow box like it.

mountain ash limb

saint paul, minnesota

i borrowed this from the neighbor’s yard.  by this time of winter the sumac drupes can start looking pretty banged up and dirty.   but this one still looked bright and cheery. so i borrowed it. okay, i stole it.

fruit of the staghorn sumac

saint paul, minnesota