all bound up

we had a breakthrough, of sorts, at our home last year. we’ve been in our house for  17 years. we have three heavily wooded acres on a lake in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities. before buying this house, we lived for 20 years in the city of Minneapolis. while in the city, steve and i gardened. we tried our hand at just about everything, but eventually settled into growing just the things we loved most: tomatoes, peppers, herbs (mostly basil), and fruit (raspberries, apples). gardening was easy in the city. the only pests were rabbits, but they were not problematic. but in this home we have way too much shade and way too many deer to garden. at all. believe me, we tried. until last year when we realized that our dock was in full sun and deer-free. what took us so long to figure that out, i have no idea. but, we now have a garden again. it’s wonderful. and every day, my husband takes a walk down the dock, to dip his watering can into the lake, and water the potted plants. he loves it in the way some people love their first cup of morning coffee. he literally can’t wait for it. he craves it. anyway, i digress a bit…the point of the story is that he often comes back to the house after watering his beloved plants carrying STILL-worthy treasures he found along the dock–like these cattail leaves and bindweed vines he brought me today. the deep green leaves and bright red vines caught his attention. i love my perceptive and sensitive husband who notices red vines on green leaves, and loves me enough to knows i would want to photograph them. and who loves his morning watering ritual even more.

cattail leaves with bindweed vine