make believe
most of the time i try to document, more than embellish. i think nature is plenty fascinating all by itself, as it changes by location and by season, and by the amount of attention you pay to it. but i took this photo at first as a documentary artifact, and when i looked at it on the computer, i couldn’t help seeing the nest as a safe place for something innocent, and i couldn’t help seeing the elm leaves as winged little creatures hovering around to offer their protection. and so i wove in a little chain of black cherry blossoms so that whatever was in the nest would have something pretty to look at. and i took the photo again. i’m getting soft. but then, we did just lose the last of our six chickens, and clove was perhaps the sweetest and most innocent of them all. i didn’t make the connection until just now. but i guess this is a way of saying goodbye.

(blue jay?) nest with spring black cherry blossoms

saint paul, minnesota