sometimes you accomplish something impressive because you experienced a great leap of imagination and synthesis that generated something new and beautiful almost out of thin air. and sometimes you accomplish something because you were just doggedly patient enough to see it through. the pattern above was one of the plough-horse variety. i created a font, and very patiently filled in the letters, staying in the lines like a 1st grader with a set of crayolas and my tongue sticking out between my teeth. and yet? i sort of love it. inspiration can come some other day. today, i’ll take patience.

crushed fall leaves, dried hydrangea blossoms, willow leaves, twigs, box elder seeds

saint paul, minnesota

2015 was full of activities that set the table, that prepared for outcomes and rewards that wouldn’t arrive, if they ever did arrive at all, until 2016 or later. it was a thrilling stretch of time, to be immersed in so many engrossing projects at once, but there comes a time when you want to stop cooking and sit down to eat. it now seems as if that time is approaching. steve’s book is currently in the hands of a couple of readers who could change the course of his writing career. and two new product lines featuring STILL blog images will be available online in mid-February. I can finally say that both Target and West Elm will be featuring STILL images this year. On February 18, Target will be offering 8 different collections of bedding and soft goods (sheets, pillowcases, shams, duvet covers, and shower curtains), and on February 16, West Elm will release 36 STILL-inspired wall-hangings printed on acrylic. They are all gorgeous, and you are going to get so sick of hearing about them, but I wanted my oldest and dearest followers to hear about it first. Here we go. I feel like I’m emerging from my chrysalis.

dried fiddle-leaf fig (ficus lyrata) leaf

i don’t really want to return to the times when dartmoor farmers would hang these hag stones from their house keys, or lay them on their windowsills, to ward off spirits and evil spells. but part of me would still like my conception of the world to include the possibility that witches haunt the hedgerows at night, and ride horses hard across the moors. the world would be a bigger place if i could believe that. i’m a scientist to my core. but three of our four chickens aren’t laying right now. and i really want to blame it on witches, and i want to be able to cure it with a couple of hag stones hung from the electronic key to my 2005 toyota prius.

hag stones

mediterranean sea near sète, france

if simon and garfunkel had lived within a longish drive of the canadian border, we might have been treated to a harmonically gorgeous song, not about scarborough fair, but about the farmers market in grand marais. with the following symbolism: spruce for the smell of the cross country ski trail as you head out from bearskin lodge. juniper for the berries you braise your whitetail buck in. thyme, savory, and sage, for a perfectly stuffed lake trout. remember me to one who lives there. she once was a true love of mine.

spruce, juniper, thyme, savory, and sage

one piece of styilng advice i’ve always remembered was the recommendation i got from a martha stewart whole living photographer (back when that magazine still existed). he said that the best photos involved styling everything perfectly, and then taking one of the arrangements, and giving it a good shake. more often than not, i’ve found that it works. it gives an appealing randomness to arrangements and assemblages that otherwise look just a little bit fussy and overplanned. on the other hand, i am not too proud to declare that it did not work this time. this arrangement, although i love every individual element of it, looks as if a toddler, or perhaps a golden retriever, came upon a perfectly lovely arrangement, and gave it a good shake. unfortunately, that good shake also happened to occur just as the last of my afternoon light disappeared over the western horizon. so, i present to you, a still life, arranged by lassie. enjoy.

bits and pieces currently on my collections table:  flicker feather, red admiral butterfly, dried fern, had stone, wild grape, cattail leaf, found jaw bones, asparagus berries, lake superior beach rock

all from minnesota except the hag stone which was from the mediterranean near sète, france