It’s green week at Mitchster.com. Now that summer is really, really here I thought I’d share some of what makes winter tolerable here.
This was taken on the nature trail north of Lake Harriet.
One of my favorite things about living on Lake of the Isles in the winter is the ability to visit the islands (they are bird sanctuaries the rest of the year). his tree fell over years ago, but still hangs on.
This leafless red oak and my friend Sam are having a bad hair day.
A sure sign of fall, the vibrant red oaks show their color down in the valley of nine mile creek, Bloomington, MN (just south of Minneapolis, home of the Mall of America).
Did you know that leaves only turn yellow in Europe? I found this out at Riga Daily Photo (see his yellow-leaf photo). A recent discovery has lead scientists to speculate that the red coloring is a defense mechanism. When the green chlorophyll in leaves disappears in fall, the yellow color that was always there becomes visible. The trees that turn red actually go out of their way to do so. It seems that they do it to ward off insects. In Europe, the combination of Ice ages and the barrier of the Alps managed to kill off all the insects that would threaten the trees, so they don’t need to make the effort. For the full explanation, read this article I found At Science Daily: Why More Autumn Leaves Are Red In America And Yellow In Europe: New Theory
Remember the Doomed Tree? It’s day finally came. Thought you should know. Instead of sending flowers, the neighboring trees request that you go hug a beloved tree today. 
Safety Orange is not a common color in nature, and for trees it’s the mark of the saw.
This willow stands on the Northwest corner of Lake Calhoun (for now) and caught my eye because of the interplay of light and shadow. The hanging branches and the shadows create and vortex composition. Also, shorelines are the coin of the relm in Minnesota and provide a literal and figurative compositional line. I placed the tree dead-center because it is the divide between the bike path and the lake.
The sun just caught the side of this palm at the Conservatory and it lit up so nicely. I love little events like this.
Time to get underground before the snow flies! (Click image for enlargement)
