pick up sticks
i’m sure i’m dating myself with the reference to the childhood game of pick up sticks. but i was pretty good, and so i have good memories of the game. i can already see my strategy here. i think i can lift that top one off without moving any of the others, then i can use the top stick to lift the one that is crossing right underneath it. and then it’s just a matter of patience and a steady hand. if you’re playing against me, don’t get your hopes up that you’ll ever get your turn.

horsetail

rice creek regional trail, shoreview, minnesota

nature. edited.
i took a very elegant, true-to-life photo of a branch of honeysuckle this afternoon, that included the nicely veined opposite leaves, and a chain of delicate, dangling blossoms. it was quite competently done, and completely boring. i tried running it past my family in hopes that they would absolve me, but no luck. so with light failing in the early evening, i tore all the leaves off the branches, and created this artificial, yet not exactly dishonest, appreciation of the beauty of spring honeysuckle flowers. it’s not exactly the truth, but it’s not quite a lie, and it’s beautiful. so a pretty white lie is what you get for mother’s day.

honeysuckle blossom buds

a trillium in a china shop
trillium is my husband’s favorite spring flower. Steve says he likes how bold and broad they are willing to be at a time of year when the other woodland flowers are all frail little hepaticas and anemones. i suppose that’s consistent. he picked a spouse who isn’t afraid to spread her elbows.

trillium

turtle lake, shoreview, minnesota

seasonal wreath
don’t these balsam tips look like little creatures throwing their heads back and extending their arms wide in celebration? what better way for the just-hatched tips of spring trees to look? just don’t grab a fistful of them and then smell your hand. because it won’t be spring anymore. it will be mid-december with a christmas tree in the living room, about to be strung with lights.

balsam tips

turtle lake, shoreview, minnesota

see change
today i gave my presentation at the see change design conference in minneapolis. i really wanted to do a good job, and i hadn’t quite realized how much it had been hanging over me until i finished my talk, and realized i had done it. it was a wonderful conference, and hanging out all day with motivated and successful creative people was a huge gift. but right now i feel as light as these black cherry blossoms at the thought that i can sleep late tomorrow, with no big presentations to give in the foreseeable future.

black cherry blossoms

saint paul, minnesota