the coneflowers looked a little like this all day long. i could have snapped a photo at almost any instant, and caught a stationary bumblebee sucking nectar and another bee or two or three flying somewhere very important. maybe they too noticed the curling edges of the coneflower petals, and the red freckles beginning to stain the virginia creeper, and figured it was time to get serious for the home stretch of summer.

coneflower with bumblebee

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota

i brought this saint john’s-wort into my home in the spirit of william morris, who advocated having “nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” i know, and i believe.

common saint john’s-wort

rice creek trail, saint paul, minnesota

i apologize if this blog has been a bit too literary lately, but that’s what happens when you’re the main reader and consultant on your husband’s first book. one of my favorite scenes in any book i’ve read is the description of levin mowing with a scythe in anna karenina, and the almost meditative, self-forgetful state he finds himself in, despite the physical difficulty of his labor. so, around here, the grasses are starting to form their seed heads, and this fact made itself suddenly urgent this morning, as i walked through my favorite local prairie. i began pulling the prettiest seed heads, and soon enough i was finding every seed head pretty, and soon after that, i had forgotten the notion of time passing.

collection of late july prairie grasses

rice creek trail, saint paul, minnesota

remember the original pixar short, with the mother desk lamp and the baby desk lamp hopping across the screen? remember how the mother couldn’t keep her distracted and hyper youngster focused? that’s what i see here: a mother watching over two distracted but well behaved daughters, and a younger son just looking for trouble. she loves them all of course. and maybe the little troublemaker best of all…

nodding wild onion

saint paul, minnesota