depending on how i look at this figure, i either see a comical vetruvian man with a headdress of fruit, stretching his limbs like a strange combination of the jolly green giant and carmen miranda, or else i see a bulbous tropical snowflake. in either case, it looks like something trying, and failing, to be taken seriously.

pinwheel pattern of black-eyed susan, succulent leaves, woodpecker feathers, highbush cranberries, and unidentified blue berries

the pot in my kitchen, my front yard, and saint paul, mn

as i started taking apart yesterday’s photo, i got only this far before i was interrupted. when i returned, i liked what i saw. it looked like a giant coffee cup ring on my kitchen floor. the thought of having mid-morning coffee with giants made me smile. i wondered how they might react to my bossy chicken, glimmer, joining us. which made me smile even more.

lake superior beach rocks

grand marais, minnesota

as i look at my collection of lake superior beach rocks above, i wonder what it is about collecting that is so satisfying. i collect rocks. and feathers. and eggs. and seed pods. some people collect ticket stubs, wine labels, tattoos, and matchbooks. i get the same thrill finding a nearly intact robin’s egg shell, as others do snagging a catherineholm dutch oven at a thrift sale. is there perhaps a collecting gene?

lake superior beach rocks

near grand marais, minnesota

at its most fundamental, this is a collage about housing and transportation.

a collage of bird treasures–nests, wings, feathers, eggs, and talons

saint paul, mn, northern mn, and languedoc france

my husband brought me this stem after spending an afternoon walking grouse trails in northern minnesota with my brother.  he knows me. from the segmented jester’s hat seed head, to the delicate curve of the stem…it was love at first sight.

wild lily stem found in a bog in far northern minnesota

chippewa national forest, minnesota