i have a yard full of ferns. ferns grow next to the pond, next to the cattails, under the deck, among the raspberry canes, along the side yard, at the edge of the woods. they are one element in the green tunnel that closes down every summer between me and our lake, feeling just this side of claustrophobic by late august, and relieved finally by autumn color, and winter leaf fall. the point is, i have taken them for granted for ten years now, until a friend stopped by to dig some up for her yard. her obvious delight and gratitude helped me see them anew, and so i present you with a selection of my newly prized collection of back yard ferns. enjoy at your leisure.

ferns: ostrich fern, lady fern,and sensitive fern

saint paul, minnesota

it was hot today. sort of suck-the-life-out-of-you hot. we have not used our air conditioner all summer so to keep the streak going, we opted to use will power today, rather than air conditioning. which means very little truly productive work got done. i don’t know about you, but my mind melts above a certain threshold of heat and humidity. so when the leaves of this little unidentified weed in my backyard caught my attention, i knew i didn’t have it in me to search any farther. i sighed and laughed both–is this really all i have energy for? a tiny nondescript weed from the backyard? but now the sun is going down, and the air is cooling, and my little weed doesn’t look so plain to me. if it hadn’t been so hot today, i would have been more ambitious, and missed this shot. constraints are good.

little leaves from an unidentified weed

saint paul, minnesota

we love looking out over the cattail bed that stands beside the shallows of the lake we call home. we have always thought of our purchase of this house as an aesthetic choice, but it appears it was also a culinary choice. if the world goes to hell some day, we have cattail and arrowroot to survive on for months. perhaps accompanied by a dandelion salad and panfish en brochette, with a handful of black cap raspberries for dessert. hmm. bring on the apocalypse.

arrowhead flower and leaf

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota

this lineup is full of both beauty and function. but it still reminds me of a gathering of teenagers, all with different hair, trying both to fit in, and to stand out, and not quite managing either.

prairie grass seed heads

rice creek trial, saint paul, minnesota

steve and i are floating along right now on just enough career supporting just enough creativity. but you can’t sit on your lily pad forever. eventually you have to pick the next place to jump. we each have a jump or two ahead of us, and a lot of water to clear if we’re going to land safely. well. here goes.

lilypads

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota