i was stopped in my tracks today by the incandescent orange tips of these horsetail stems. the sun was lighting them from behind so that they flamed blaze orange. i am used to seeing blaze orange in the autumn woods. but on the backs of living hunters, not the tips of living fossils.

horsetail

rice creek regional trail, saint paul, mn

if you had to swear on your grandmother’s grave and sign a solemn oath, these blood feathers would make the perfect quills.

rice creek regional trail

saint paul, minnesota

i love sumac. i love its feathery texture against the other roadside greens in the summer, i love that its leaves are the first to burst into joyous flame in the fall, and i love the burnt red seed head it leaves behind bright against the grays and whites of winter. honk if you love sumac!

sumac leaves in early october

saint paul, minnesota

these ash leaves rose as sap last spring, and fell as leaves this autumn. so it goes.

ash leaves

saint anthony village, mn

a collection of sun bleached bones found on the shores of the great salt lake in utah a couple of weeks ago.  i put them in a plastic bag and carried them home in my carry-on, grateful i didn’t have to explain anything to a customs officer, and musing on the absurdity of being able to carry animal bones across the country but no more than 2 fluid ounces of water.

i had originally thought they belonged to a former coyote, but now i am second guessing myself and thinking the delicate rib bones are too small for coyote.  maybe raccoon?  it’s all the same to me, they are both, since March of this year, “chicken predators” in my book.

great salt lake, utah