three leaves, three petals, three calyx leaves. the word trillium comes from latin meaning “triplet.” but the latin word is probably borrowed from swedish. why swedish? i can only imagine it has something to do with mr. carl linnaeus, the swedish father of modern taxonomy, who came up with all those arrestingly apt latin terms for our natural world. thanks, carl, for the word trillium. it’s one of my favorites.

pressed great white trillium

saint paul, minnesota

can somebody please tell me why i don’t press more flowers? i just opened a press from 5 or 6 years ago, and can’t believe the beauty i have neglected for all these years. sheesh.

pressed bleeding heart

saint paul, minnesota

these red milkweed pods swelled and burst and all of their little progeny floated off on the seven winds. they strike me as having neglected to plan for this moment, like empty nesters, looking around at each other, asking, ok, now what? anyone know how to play canasta?

red milkweed

sucker lake regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

we spent the entire day with my big, loud, romanian family, and as usual, i am grateful for all the love in the room, and at the same time, it feels as if i have been looking at a kaleidoscope for the last 8 hours. i no longer really know which way is up. happy holidays to all of you. i’m going to bed.

kaleidoscope collage

this was the very STILL inspired centerpiece of our christmas eve dinner. we tried a five course, french-style meal, and it accomplished what a french meal is designed to accomplish–good food, and, almost more importantly, good conversation. two kids left their electronics in their rooms, in exchange for reminiscences and wisdom from their grandma. our high schooler got to weigh in on contemporary politics. and all night a fire burned in the fireplace. not every christmas is this good. but this was an especially good one.

christmas table centerpiece