seed sails

Damn it is cold outside! This stem caught my attention because it reminded me of the Sydney Opera House. And it is summer in Sydney. And that thought warmed me up for bit, remembering that it is summer somewhere. The days are getting longer now. But the temps always lag by about a month. Soon, though, the added daylight will start the rewarming process. I am ready for it.

swamp milkweed in winter (Asclepias incarnata)

bitter cold

These buds look so hopeful. But alas, it is bitter cold here in the N0rth. The first real cold of the winter. The third and forth weeks of January are historically the coldest weeks of the year in Minnesota. And this year will be no exception it seems. And somehow, the lack of snow it making it feel even colder and meaner than usual. It is so bitter outside, that when my son was running to the grocery store earlier,  I said to him: “Stock up! Because I am not leaving the house again until spring.” I was only half kidding.

winter branches with buds against a white sky

semi-transparent

I’m loving the texture and subtle color variations in these wilted umbrella plant leaves. Another example of  the beautiful structure revealed when botanicals start to dry up. In winter, no subject is too mundane or too ordinary–everything gets considered. It is part of the reason I like the seasonal variations. summer is about learning to deal with abundance and overwhelming choice. Winter is about careful consideration of every possibility in a vast and sparse landscape. Both seasons present their own unique challenge. Spring and fall are the easiest seasons for STILL–with just the right amount of choice. Some are easier, some are harder, and I’ll take all of them.

dried leaves (umbrella plant/schefflera)

Nature loves a Fibonacci series

My workshop went well. A little clunky on my delivery as this was the first time I have given this particular talk. But I think there is a nugget there, with the art of noticing, that I hope to refine.  On a completely different topic, these winter stems are compelling, aren’t they? Those dots are not burs,  and I don’t know what the plant is. Wild mint, perhaps? Anyway, one thing I am sure of is that those little dots (calices?) are very probably laid out in a Fibonacci series.  Nature loves a Fibonacci series. And so do I.

unidentified winter stem (wild mint??)

The Art of Noticing

Today while you are reading this post I will be giving a workshop to 60 teachers. It is a group of teachers I gave a workshop to last year. So they have heard my STILL story once already. Tomorrow’s workshop will be about the Art of Noticing. The Art of Noticing is the subtitle of my forthcoming book. It is tricky business to try and teach someone how to “see” and even harder yet, to challenge them to “re-see” the ordinary things in their life to which they have become habituated. But that is my goal tomorrow. Every day for the last 11-plus years I have walked to the same five trails around my home. And each day I need to find a new STILL subject to photograph. So I have developed some tricks that help me focus my attention so that I can see anew these familiar trails. This will be the first time I am teaching this particular workshop. Wish me luck. I hope it lands.

swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)