edible artichokes are a species of thistle. that makes me really happy for some reason. so does this earthy photo.

artichoke flower in winter

community garden at swede hollow cafe, saint paul, minnesota

p.s. happy thanksgiving to all my american readers, and thank you to all my other readers!

i am enjoying making these delicate pinwheel patterns out of the bits and pieces that accumulate on my desk. the bent lines of the mountain ash stems suggested more motion than I had anticipated. a happy accident.

mountain ash leaves and stems, rosemary leaves, ash seeds, red cedar berries, artichoke leaves, fennel flower seeds, maple seeds, thistle flower gone to fluff, and one mushroom cap

saint paul,  minnesota

i don’t know why, but i have had it in my head for several weeks that the way some fall leaves turn color by gradation on single branch is similar to the coloring of some fish. of course, i put off attempting my “leaf-scale fish” until all the trees in our area had lost their leaves. I was just about to shrug off my lost opportunity when, today, waiting outside the swede hollow cafe in saint paul for my morning latte, i found a carpet of beautiful, mountain-ash fish scales on the ground. a fishy gift from the universe.

mountain ash leaves in fall

swede hollow cafe, saint paul, minnesota

i interrupted this allium mid-explosion.

allium flower head

minneapolis, minnesota