my husband found this peaceful little guy in our chicken coop today.  we think he’s a lincoln’s sparrow. we are somewhat horrified at the thought that our sweet chickens may have attacked him. we intend to follow the cold war strategy, “trust but verify” for several days.

saint paul, minnesota

a quick walk with the dog just before dinner last night offered up the collection above.  right now seeing green is still exciting and special,  yet in only a week or two there will be so much green and it will be so dense that i will be trying to see past it to look for my daily STILL blog inspiration.

a collection of mid-may greenery

saint paul, minnesota

this red pine stump sits beside our wood pile.  not worth splitting.  sometime in the last several months it simply fell apart, revealing the deep root of a branch anchored like a molar in a jaw.

weathered red pine tree stump

saint paul, minnesota

how subtly colorful weeping willows are. in spring, they are this beautiful chartreuse color–a sort of lemony lime. in summer they are fountains of emerald green. by late fall, the branches will darken into a deep golden yellow. right now, though, in early may, they might be at their best.

weeping willow branchlets

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota

it took a while, but col0r has finally returned to our corner of  north america: red maple buds, chartreuse braids of willow branches, ruby catkins, white magnolias, purple crocuses, green grass, and lemon yellow forsythia. and it’s just the beginning.

forsythia in bloom

my yard, saint paul, minnesota