i don’t have any good stories about these feathers or about my finding them. they were just on the side of the trail during another walk along the shore of vadnais lake, which is a placid and beautiful place during the day, but, given the number of feathers and bones i find there, must resemble a kind of hieronymous bosch hellscape between sundown and sunset. none of which explains why i chose this photo. i chose it for purely visual reasons: the crisp black needles of the feather shafts among the pillowy softness of the downy barbules. i love that.

canada goose feathers

vadnais lake trail, saint paul, minnesota