every now and then on one of my walks, i see so many STILL blog opportunities that the embarrassment of riches actually begins to shut me down. yesterday was one of those days.  i saw wild grape vines beginning to set tiny fruits, birch catkins puffed up like mini pineapples, mulberries just starting to take shape, bluebird eggs shells, wood duck egg shells, cottonwood fluff piling like snow.  it just didn’t stop.  so, i finally had to take a deep breath and pick one thing to carry home. i chose these prairie grass stems. they had just started to go to seed send pollen, and each head was dusted with seeds stamen that looked as if they would blow away at the first hint of a breeze.

rice creek regional trail

saint paul, minnesota

note: i learned this later from a botanist friend:   “This is orchard grass (dactylis glomerata) and it came to North America with the European colonialists. Now it is everywhere! The things hanging out from the head of the plan are actually stamens, the part that spreads the pollen. These, like all grasses, are wind pollinated, so they hang it all out and hope that at least some of the massive amounts of pollen that they spread will find its way to a female part on another orchardgrass.”

i took a quick tour through the yard yesterday and this is what i found. june feels like an embarrassment of riches after our drawn-out winter.

left to right:  columbine, bridal wreath, bleeding heart, creeping charlie, dame’s rocket, blackberry blossoms, wild geranium

my yard, saint paul, minnesota

when i started STILL blog, i had in mind that i would gravitate toward subjects that made bold graphic statements. like this one. but over time i got distracted. with color, and texture, and pattern, and shape, and…hey! check that out over there!

locust leaves

saint paul, minnesota

we have had raspberries and blackberries in our yard(s) for over twenty years.  they are  my kids’ all time favorite summer foods.  how in the world did i never notice how gorgeous these blackberry blossoms are?  honestly. my son brought me a handful of blossoms this afternoon, and i am absolutely smitten.  flowers for the soul, nectar for the bees, and food for the kids.  a perfect trifecta.

blackberry blossoms

saint paul, minnesota

we discovered this beautiful migrant in our back yard the first spring after we bought our house. after looking barren all through may, it suddenly flamed into life in june, and it has been the last tree to blossom in our yard every year since. i suppose, as a native of the south, it needs a little more convincing than its northern neighbors that summer is really here to stay.

redbud buds

in my backyard, saint paul minnesota