portrait of a date in time

i’m still fascinated by the idea that if you could take in enough sensory data in nature, including the temperature, the terrain, the angle of the sun, the relative development of the various flowers, trees, vines, mushrooms, nuts, berries, grasses, and leaves, you could predict the date to within, say a week. in that spirit, here is a portrait of august 23, 2017, in my backyard.

bits and pieces of nature gathered on august 23rd, 2017

turtle lake, shoreview, minnesota

grounded

we’re just starting to see the first ragged formations of canada geese pass overhead in that heart swelling way they have of moving through the sky, announcing the changing of the seasons. i wish this beautiful fellow were joining in the migration.

canada goose feet

turtle lake, shoreview, minnesota

old friends

i invited a gathering of old friends into my living room today. they didn’t say much. we mostly just sat there, and i thought about where i’d first met each of them: california, minnesota, florida and southern france. then they went back into the basement. it was a good reunion. full of orderly silence, and quiet meaning.

pinecone collection

united states and france

change of heart

i picked a long cucumber vine that had started to pull its way across the tops of some prairie grass in our back yard, reminding myself once again that with a black background i could photograph white flowers. and the white flowers were spectacular. delicate and dainty heads of them sitting upright on stalks every foot or so along the vine. i can’t wait to lay these out and take their photos, i thought to myself. i’ve wanted to photograph them for years. and then i saw this perfect springform conical tendril. and all thoughts of white flowers were banished for the rest of the day.

cucumber vine tendril

can’t get over you

we have had exactly two clematises over 25 years of marriage. there have been other plants and flowers and trees that have spent part of every single year with me, and yet i think of clematis as one of my favorite flowers. i don’t know if it’s just that beautiful, or if i met it young enough that i will always think of it as mine, somehow.

clematis

minneapolis, minnesota