every time i stumble upon one of these barred owl feathers, i fall in love all over again. it doesn’t matter how many i’ve seen before, or how recently.  the large size, the coloration, the delicate softening of the edges–they all enchant me. i think this is the real thing. i think this might be forever.

barred owl feather

vadnais lake trail, saint paul, minnesota

i have spent a week telling myself and anyone who would listen that i had to get out into the back yard to photograph the explosion of blackberry blossoms this year before all the petals fell. then the petals started falling and i finally collected some blackberry blossoms, and it turns out they are all the more beautiful for sometimes displaying petals, and sometimes just displaying a beautiful star shaped calyx, and a halo of anthers looking like a dusting of poppy seeds. yummy, in either case.

blackberry blossoms

saint paul, minnesota

these feathers were found in a messy pile that could only have meant one thing. but if you know anything about birds, you know feathers don’t want to be messy. they want to be anchored in a particular place. they want to be orderly. i hope they understand what i was trying to do here.

woodpecker feathers (all from the same bird)

vadnais lake trail, saint paul, minnesota

we haven’t spent more than a few days away from our daughter since she was born, and now, just recently seventeen, she will be gone for a week, among shells, and coral and, we understand, spotted leopard rays. we wish her careful and happy diving.

shell collection

mostly gulf of mexico and mediterranean beaches

these pale beauties flutter against our windows each night, trying in vain to reach our floor lamps through double paned thermal glass. most nights they are tracked, slowly and inexorably, by gray tree frogs, who climb the windows after them on suction cup feet, flashing their underparts at us, and occasionally winding up with a generous mouthful of moth.

moth: pale beauty (campaea perlata)

my bedroom wall, saint paul,  minnesota