The Very Best Word
Author: Shelly
Deer Skull
I found a deer skull out in the thicket behind my building, while I was walking the dog. It’s in beautiful condition.
Surprise!
It isn’t even March yet, and the surprise lilies are well and truly up.
Things! In! Bags!
I went for a walk in the stacks this morning and was not disappointed. The restroom on the 9th floor had a sink covered with a trash bag. One more in an ongoing series.
Things! In! Bags!
I had to go back to working on-site. Sadcakes. But look! I found another thing in a bag, so I can add that to my collection.
More Garden Surprises
Several other things were in that bee and butterfly mix. I love the little flax flowers and the yarrow, which is growing in several of my beds now. I hope they all get well established. The lavender was a surprise from a few years ago. I planted it in one of the beds, but it ended up in a small flower pot. Likely moved by chipmunks or birds. It’s been wintering over just fine in that pot, but I should probably plant it.
Common flax
Coreopsis
Lavender
Yarrow (newly bloomed)
Yarrow (older)
Dianthus
The dianthus are getting past their prime, but they’re still pretty. The variety in colors amazes me. These came from a bee and butterfly mix I planted last spring, that didn’t grow until this year. They were a total surprise.
Rainy Day Garden
I don’t remember a colder spring. It’s June and I haven’t even been tempted to turn on the AC yet. I think the high today was around 65F. The garden is loving it.
Lavender
Cicada on daylilies
Yarrow
Iris
Creeper
Lo-Fi
These are from my great grandpa’s negatives. They’re 110, so the quality is pretty grim, and they’re scratched to hell, which hasn’t helped. I like the lo-fi feel of a lot of them, though.
Field
Hot air balloon
Flood in Austin, Minnesota, July 1978
Hormel Plant, Austin, Minnesota
Grandpa Mert
I edited a few more of the negatives I scanned. These are 70mm negatives of my grandpa Mert, from when he joined the Navy in 1944. He was in the Seabees and spent most of WWII stationed in the Marshall Islands (on Kwajalein Island and Ebeye Island). The first photo must have been the keeper of the bunch, because it’s the one everyone in the family has seen. The rest were outtakes that I’d never seen. They were with my great grandpa John Meineke’s negatives, so I’m assuming he was the photographer.
The last photo is flippin’ adorable.
red paper boat 