i am having fun with these assemblages of the bits and pieces of nature that find their way onto my specimen table. for several years i have also fallen under the spell of the (swiss) cross as a design element.  i have used it in journal doodles, i have sewn it into pillows, and i have even painted it on canvas. so it is really about time that i did a STILL blog assemblage in the shape of my current favorite graphic.

cross assemblage of october nature bits

saint paul, minnesota

this fern began as a tightly wound little fiddlehead seemingly only days ago, although it was actually last april, almost half a year ago, that i first saw it emerge. today my husband celebrates his 49th birthday. when i met him half a life ago, he was a tightly wound young creature full of self-involvement and promise. he has since unwound into a looser autumn version of himself, without quite losing the shape of his burstingly passionate spring. i’ll take the latest version in all its earned imperfection.

fern leaf

grass lake regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

R.O.Y.  G.   . . .

pin oak leaves in four colors

grass lake regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

in the same way that a bare winter linden tree can sometimes look like the map of a major watershed, i decided that the work of this burdock borer larva resembled the crazy oxbows of the okavango delta. of course, it also looks like the scribbling of a two year old on an etch-a-sketch, which makes it more difficult to philosophize on the recurring patterns of nature and their deeper purposes.

burdock borer moth larva trails on a burdock leaf

grass lake regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

this maple leaf appears as conflicted about the onset of fall as i am. wait, it’s still sort of summer. wait, no it’s not. well, ok, it’s sort of in-between. sure but look at how low the sun is. yeah but it just hit seventy degrees today. well, you know that won’t last for long. true, but the grass is still green. granted, but the cattails are brown. well, how about the fishermen still out on the lake. yes, but listen to all those leaf blowers on the wind. oh, fine. you win.

maple leaf in october

saint paul, minnesota