it’s so tempting to photograph a pile of lilac heads and celebrate their abundance right now. but in the spirit of still blog, i’m asking you to see lilacs as an accumulation of one thing at a time. one leaf. one blossom. multiplied but still individual. breathe in. breathe out.

lilacs

saint paul, minnesota

there is both a second’s perusal and a lifetime’s research in this photo. on the one hand, is it pretty? if so, double click, or swipe right. on the other hand, why exactly did evolution choose the serrated edges of the opposite leaves of the mountain ash, and why the flat lobed platter of the lupine leaf? the answer to that is waiting somewhere over the course of a lifetime of curiosity. do i prefer the quick instinctual aesthetic judgement? or the accumulation of scientific observation? the answer, of course, is “Yes.”

an assortment of early-may leaves

saint paul, minnesota

if i count those falling parasols correctly, there appear to be just about eighteen of them. one for every year of my daughter’s life, today, on her eighteenth birthday. the years have fallen away as lightly and with as little impact, it seems, as dandelion fluff. she came out howling. wore some diapers. displayed a certain attitude. ran funny on the soccer field. made some good friends and some uninspired friends. fell in love with lakes and oceans. learned french. learned to bake. found a certain sense of self. insisted on her independence. got a car. edited the school newspaper. got a job. caused us fewer problems than we deserved. she’s a good one. she’s heading good places. i hope, on this birthday that also happens to be mother’s day, that i get to spend a lot more of my life in her company, and in the company of people she loves.

dandelion

saint paul, minnesota

i couldn’t decide whether to make a mother’s day joke, or an election year joke, about my poor bleeding heart.

bleeding heart blossoms

saint paul, minnesota

i know. everyone is posting photos of blossoms right now because spring is so short and blossoms are so uplifting after so much winter which is why i grabbed these blossoms today despite the fact that everyone is posting blossoms because spring is so short and blossoms are so uplifting after so much winter. so shut up.

apple blossoms

saint paul, minnesota