hidden secrets

i bought these scabiosa last fall specifically to dry them because i like their buckyball seed heads. what i didn’t know was the delight i would find on a cold february afternoon after i had uploaded my photos of them onto my imac, and only then noticed the tiny white daisies left behind after their star-shaped seeds had fallen away. however you have to on your device, zoom in on this photo and look closely at one seed-head. daisies in february!

dried scabiosa stellata (pincushion flower)

dried to perfection

every autumn, i fill a few produce bags with handfuls of fall leaves and tuck them to dry in the dark recesses of my basement. i call it my rainy day fund for winter STILL subjects. this bag of smokebush leaves dried beautifully imho. the olive greens, khakis, and dark chocolate (almost black) leaves remind of the rich loamy soil of autumn. i can smell it now, the earthy  scent of decomposing vegetation, duff, perhaps a soupçon of mold. ahhhh, such a deliciously organic scent. these leaves have served their purpose well, i have been temporarily transported to a lakeside trail  in late october. bravo.

dried to perfection

19 nests

lots of nesting going on here. late january is historically the coldest time of the year in minnesota. so i’m waiting it out by the fire in a wool blanket reading about art and italy and sunburned shoulders and negroni sipping and hand-rolled cigarettes and warm olives and whining vespas, and…clearly @sjrhoffman and i need to find a temporary little nest in italy after our youngest heads off to college this fall.

collection of abandoned and storm damaged bird nests

beautiful details

the details on this image please me. the way the two needles bundles are sheathed in what looks like thin waxed string in a gorgeous chocolate brown. the way the needles each form a half circle, so that the pair bundle is perfectly round. the copper color of the needles themselves (or would you cal it auburn?). it’s all so rich and textured. and hiding in plain sight.

red pine needle sheathes (or fascicles)

making my own sunshine

the last two weeks of january are historically the coldest weeks of the year in minnesota. so, when i saw these gold and yellow bits floating around in various specimen boxes, i gathered them together and made my own sunshine. i can feel the warmth. can you?