expectations and contentment

i stood in the garage looking out at the rain, scanning for a STILL blog subject and sweating in the humid july heat. i wanted to capture some element of the dense foliage, dripping with moisture, that is normally associated with the american southeast, but which minnesota, paradoxically, can produce in the midst of its incredibly lush and productive summer growing season. my ambitions were thwarted by the interference of the rain, and by a landscape i have seen so many times that it is difficult to see it anew. in the end, I decided to give up my grander ambitions and photograph this little common bindweed growing out of the crack in the driveway skirt. as so often happens when i simply lower my expectations, i was pleasantly surprised with the result.

bindweed

shoreview, minnesota