Heart Stump

This stump gives a bit of hope

My dad once said “There is nothing sadder than a sick or dying tree.” Walking around the neighborhoods of Minneapolis, you can get pretty sad these days. The “Ulmus Americanus” are being felled pell mell. We learned our lesson, hopefully. Diversity of tree varieties is a good thing.

I was out walking and happened upon this tree stump. It caught my attention and offered a bit of hope, as if the tree was saying “I’m okay. My spirit will go on.”

Dutch elm disease is a deadly fungus carried by the Elm Bark Beetle. The wood chips from a fallen Elm cannot pass on the fungus, so the chips are one way to carry the trees legacy on.

To catch a butterfly photo

A yellow monarch on a "Firecracker" Zinnia

Have you ever chased a butterfly around the garden in attempts to capture just that perfect garden photo?

I danced with this little fellow around the zinnia patch for about ten minutes and he was having a lot of fun with me. I was tickled that he flirted as long as he did.

Capturing that perfect garden shot, especially when it involves a flitting creature, can be a crap shoot. There is a chance you won’t get the shot. But about 30 attempts could land just the right one.

The best bet is to keep the camera close at hand and snap a series whenever you get a visit in the garden.