three beautiful things found in the course of a single walk, which could only have taken place in May, given the perfect white ripeness of the wood anemones. But how about that exquisitely infested two-tone leaf? And isn’t that snapping turtle skull, in his own way, a beauty? that’s how i felt all day. full of gushy girlish wonder and gratitude.

three items found on one may walk: egg decorated leaf, turtle skull, wood anemone

sucker lake trail, saint paul, minnesota

cozy. rustic. needs some tlc. wooded setting. great views. quiet. family preferred. no pets. no smoking. reasonable rent. 1 year lease.

vireo(?) nest

sucker lake, saint paul, minnesota

60’s psychedelic hallucination? 70’s home decor? green smoothie straws?

sedge, rush, reed, or true grass? i can’t tell.

vadnais lake, saint paul, minnesota

i feel i have not earned any authority on this subject. there is too much gulf between my life as it has played out and the lives we in the US are encouraged to remember over these next few days. but it is memorial day weekend. and we each find our own way to remember the fallen. these feathers are one way, as insufficient as all the rest.

mallard feathers

sucker lake trail, saint paul, minnesota

last october, my husband and i passed what appeared to be a roadkill porcupine on the shoulder of a utah highway. i have never let him hear the end of the fact that we drove past it, and did not turn around at the next exit in order to take a still blog photo of all of those perfectly photogenic quills. yesterday morning, on my 50th birthday, when he saw a roadkill beaver with a perfectly photogenic tail, he elected not to make the same mistake twice. thanks to him and thanks to this beaver for his beautiful tail, and his endearingly eloquent rear foot, which must have enjoyed swimming so much.

roadkill beaver tail and hind leg

highway 61 in white bear lake, saint paul, minnesota