this big bluestem is the star of the show right now. i see her everywhere, and she’s spectacular. she is about to take her bow, and the curtain of winter is about to come down. but right now, she is just in her glory, and soaking up every bit of the applause.

big bluestem; native tall grass

grass lake, saint paul, minnesota

as summer wanes and i get a little nostalgic about the end of long, lazy summer afternoons on the lake, it occurs to me that i have never done a STILL blog tribute to my home state.  as most of you may know, minnesota is liberally stippled with freshwater lakes. the state motto is “land of 10,000 lakes,” but in reality, we have a little over 15,000. just to bring my son to school, in nearby Saint Paul, i used to drive past six lakes (turtle, vadnais, white bear, keller, gervais, and phalen).  visitors who spend more than a few days here usually find themselves staring out car windows as one lake after another slides by. and we locals remember long summer days at the cabin up north, where the dock was cedar, the water was tea-colored, the boat was a lund, and the fish we caught were walleyes. in fact, it sounds impossible, but it is true, that minnesota has more shoreline than california, hawaii, or florida. having heard this widely quoted (in minnesota) fact since i was a girl, i decided to do a little research, just to make sure. ladies and gentlemen of the jury, i would like to enter the following exhibit into evidence. please note that if rivers and streams are included, minnesota not only has more shoreline than california, hawaii, and florida, but, in fact, has more shoreline than all of them combined. your honor, i rest my case:

California, Hawaii, and Florida Shoreline vs. Minnesota Shoreline, including Rivers Ocean Lakes Rivers Total California 3,427 32,050 59,328 94,805 Hawaii 1,052 229 20,160 21,441 Florida 8,436 22,236 22,000 52,672 CA + HI + FL 12,915 54,515 101,488 168,918 Minnesota 0 44,926 138,400 183,326

beach sand

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota

when you can’t stop looking at something, does that make it art? or just good engineering? i don’t know, but i can’t stop running my eyes over this damselfly. whatever committee of the flying insect task force is responsible for this design, let me say that they knew their shit.

damselfly

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota

fall color is a hallowed time in minnesota. people drive hours to remote locations where slopes of sugar maples ignite and then burn orange-red for days, as gawkers stream past in their subarus outbacks.. we’re about a month away from that right now, but in the meantime, i just drove about 2 1/2 miles tonight to a lakeside trail in shoreview, where little sparks flared in the greenery, and i did not have to wonder just where in the world i was going to find a decent meal.

assorted berries from one walk in late august

vadnais lake, saint paul, minnesota

i don’t know why family occurred to me when i saw this image, but i like the idea. everybody on a different path, but moving forward in mostly the same direction. everybody in limited, free-form orbit around everybody else. i’ll take that.

unidentified vine

vandais lake, saint paul, minnesota