several stalks of this somberly festive garland decorated the edge of my walking path today–each about four or five feet tall, with beautiful dried tassels decorating their stalks. i can’t say exactly why, but they looked like the kind of weed that grows six feet in just one summer. in other words, not necessarily perennial residents of this particular spot, but nonetheless comfortable in their own skin.  i spent considerable time today trying to identify the plant, and i am at a loss, but my gut tells me it is our old friend ragweed in winter disguise.

winter weed stalk (ragweed?)

rice creek regional trail, saint paul, minnesota

fossilized lungs? carved bone?  wave-etched beach rock? did any of you know what this was at first sight?  if so, i am really impressed, and can we meet for coffee?

it is the intervertebral disc of a whitetail deer. the cushionlike pad between the vertebrae. we human animals have the same thing. when we “slip a disk” this is the pesky thing that bulges out and often puts pressure on a nearby nerve. the spinal cord runs up through the vertebra at the notch in the top of the heart shape. we found the spine of a whitetail deer beside my son’s soccer field this summer. the bones were picked clean, but mostly intact. i am guessing the work of coyotes. most of the vertebrae had these discs still attached.  this one had fallen off.  the heart shape was so striking, that my son pocketed it right off.  today, i found it on his dresser, and have borrowed it to share with you.

whitetail deer intervertebral disc

found beside the soccer fields of chippewa middle school, shoreview, minnesota

the polar vortex has either spun out, or run down, or moved on, or whatever the meteorological term might be. in any case, the temps went from double digits below zero F yesterday, to double digits above today. i think we hit a balmy 17 degrees F (-8 C) this afternoon. tomorrow looks like mid-30s (0 C). this photo is from last june, and that’s because -8 C suddenly feels like summer.

assorted backyard (june) clippings

saint paul, minnesota

these are the stems of that monster of a plant, virginia stickweed, that i foolishly carried into my house a couple of weeks ago. many of the burrs are still waiting out this cold snap in my sock drawer.  i had to trim off all the dangling chains of burrs just to get them contained enough so they wouldn’t end up in back in my hair, socks, sweater, and pants on their way back out the door. the remaining skeletons were so striking that they got to remain on my desk for a couple weeks awaiting their chance at a photo opp. here are their 15 minutes of fame.

virginia stickseed stems in winter

my driveway, saint paul, minnesota

i promised myself that STILL blog would not evolve into a food styling blog. but the polar vortex that is plunging us into record cold temps this week, has me pretty much house-bound expect for a few critical errands. no walks. no stopping the car to jump out and grab a handful of this or a fistful of that. so, i have had to look for my inspiration inside. well, actually, I was cleaning the fridge (can you say cabin fever?), and found to my surprise that the end-of-season thyme we got in our final csa farm share still looks and tastes as fresh as the day it arrived.  i love thyme.  i adore its woody fresh flavor.  but i think mostly i love its association with mediterranean france, and our favorite little corner of the world in languedoc.

thyme from our farmer david at hogsback farm in arkansaw, wisconsin