these are the tail feathers of one of the pheasants we were served at dinner last night by very careful and conscientious cooks among good friends and new friends who were all happy and grateful to be together. in other words, thanks.

pheasant feathers

minneapolis, minnesota

there is a different kind of fall color, aside from leaves, and now that the leaves have mostly fallen, i’m having fun admiring the viburnums and mountain ash and  crabapples just as loaded with fall fruit as they were of spring blossoms. i also can’t help but admire the dark berry clusters of the buckthorn, even though, in this part of the world, that particular invasive is like the devil, taking over whole woodlands and crowding out the native understory. so i guess i could say it’s like the garden of eden around here right now. we’ve got apples. and we’ve got the devil.

wild apple, crabapple, and buckthorn branches

grass lake, saint paul, minnesota

i’ve asked my design intern, alyssa, to help me make some wallpaper patterns using previously posted STILL images. we’ve made two so far, and are working on a couple more. the next one will be full of orange, red, and russet fall leaves. then we are going to tackle an avian themed design that will have at least a few dead birds. you’re just going to have to trust me.

botanical print of previously posted STILL images

dsigned on alyssa’s macbook in a café in paris

i have always loved the fine white powder that dusts the reddish purple canes of black raspberries in the winter. i have just spent a half hour or so trying to find out what that powder is, and why it seems to cover black raspberries and not traditional red raspberries (although i don’t know if this is an anecdotal observation or a scientific fact). in any case, i have come across an infinite number of online references to powdery mildew, but not a single reference to this phenomenon, affecting, as far as i can tell, perfectly health plants. i haven’t asked for help from the naturalist wing of my still blog family in a while, but i’m dying to know the answer. anyone?

raspberry canes in november

grass lake regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

a late middle aged lily showing off its boy parts. the next step in the life cycle of the lily involves further withering, then buying a porsche, wearing some gold at the wrists, and combing over the bald spot.

lily petal and stamen

store bought, saint paul, minnesota