fertility everywhere

we’ve had two courting sandhill cranes in our yard for five days now. sandhill cranes have one of the longest fossil histories of any extant bird–going back 10 million years. they are the oldest living bird. for five nights, we have been going out on our deck to watch “crane tv” for several hours. seeing them wander among these equally prehistoric-looking ferns has us feeling like we are extras on the set of jurassic park.

detail of interrupted fern with fertile spores along the midrib (Claytosmunda claytoniana)