there is both a second’s perusal and a lifetime’s research in this photo. on the one hand, is it pretty? if so, double click, or swipe right. on the other hand, why exactly did evolution choose the serrated edges of the opposite leaves of the mountain ash, and why the flat lobed platter of the lupine leaf? the answer to that is waiting somewhere over the course of a lifetime of curiosity. do i prefer the quick instinctual aesthetic judgement? or the accumulation of scientific observation? the answer, of course, is “Yes.”

an assortment of early-may leaves

saint paul, minnesota