i took this guy’s portrait in the morning, and by late afternoon of a hot 90 degree day, he looked a lot older.  we all felt a little droopy on this first summery day of a previously cool spring. one of many cool springs to come, i find myself hoping, a little desperately, against what reason  says the odds are.

jack in the pulpit

turtle lake, shoreview, minnesota

david lynch

this was part of a green potted palm in a bright, innocent corner of a stone-walled courtyard in sunny southern france. then this particular frond dried up and died, and i took its portrait, and somehow it took on all the surreal menace of one of those moments in a david lynch movie just before something horrible happens. looks like i need to get back to spring blossoms.

dried fan palm frond

three multiheaded alien birds with one foot each and spindly toes, raising their wings a little bit in mild dispute about who smells sweetest. the answer: they all do.

lily of the valley

turtle lake, shoreview, minnesota

one of my husband’s least favorite plants is spirea. i didn’t know that when i grabbed this cascading tumble of delicate white flowers from my mom’s side yard. then i worked with about a dozen different variations on this photo. submitted them to merciless photoshopping, hated all of them, worked with a different set of photos, didn’t love them, went back to one of my original photos that i didn’t like at first but which grew on me. and now, spirea is one of my least favorite plants too.

bridal wreath spirea

saint paul, minnesota

organized. minimalist. geometric. understated. utilitarian. natural. with a view. in a word: home.

wasp nest

turtle lake, shoreview, minnesota