the wildflowers and trees i walk by these days are mostly friends. oh, hi, black-eyed susan. how’s it going? nice to see you again.  hey there, mr. oak. looking regal again today. my how you’ve grown, burdock. it seems like just last week you were only knee-high. but then i walk along a mixed prairie grassland, or a stretch of silky trailside seed heads swaying in the summer breeze, and i can only manage to be distantly polite. how do you do? yes, i saw you here last week. your name again is . . . oats, was it? wheat? i’m so sorry.

unidentified roadside grass

sucker creek, saint paul, minnesota

we love seeing these tiger swallowtails swoop through our back yard, but they are also a sad reminder of how many monarchs we used to see, and how few we ever see now. maybe, in addition to our backyard bees, we need to establish a monarch sanctuary. with all of our free time . . . ahem.

canadian tiger swallowtail butterfly

saint paul, minnesota

the faded, blandly pretty, limey green fronds above are the young shoots of a neighborhood black locust, whereas the rich, full-bodied, authoritative, and centered leaves in the middle are older growth on the same tree. wait. am i editorializing?

black locust tree leaves

shoreview, minnesota

for close to a month now, there have been swarms of 50 or more dragonflies hovering, gliding, swooping, and darting over our gravel driveway. they swarm when other insects are swarming, and that means they are devouring many of the little whining insects that would otherwise be landing on our ears and necks, with bloodthirsty intentions. i suppose for some people, the sudden thrum of a dragonfly darting past your ear as you walk from the car to the front door might be cause for a minor freakout. but for me, they are like the garbage truck pulling up at the end of the driveway, loud and ungainly, but doing me a great favor.

squadron of dragonflies

saint paul, minnesota