a cabinet of small wonders, slowly breathing
Collected from damp hollows and moonlit logs. Handle with wonder.
Stones that hum with color when held to candlelight.
Pressed between pages, still faintly fragrant after decades.
Male Fern
Found in abundance along the north wall of the old millrace. The fronds uncurl with an almost aggressive optimism each April, as if they had forgotten that winter existed and were astonished to find themselves buried under mulch.
Pincushion Moss
The specimen shown here was lifted entire from a rotting stump near the eastern path. It carries in its cushion an entire civilization of mites, springtails, and organisms too small to name but not too small to matter. When dampened, it glows faintly green like a tiny phosphorescent planet.
Common Ivy
This particular vine was found attempting to consume the south face of the curator's cottage. It had worked its way under three layers of paint and was making credible progress toward the chimney. We admire its ambition even as we prune it back.