i intended to create a subtly holiday-ish swagged garland out of my pinecone collection for the second day of december. but my son took one look and declared that it looked like a head-on shot of an owl in flight, to which my husband replied, no way dude, it’s totally the mandibles of a stag beetle. my daughter is out of the house tonight, taking a test prep class, meaning the estrogen factor stands no chance in this environment against the testosterone factor. and so there you have it. please enjoy this head-on shot of an owl in flight, or possibly the mandibles of a stag beetle, depending on who wins the wrestling match between my fifth grade boy and my adult boy.

pinecone collection

mostly from minnesota and southern france, with a few from california