Jun 27, 2020
© Nicholas DePaoli
seen from Belarus
seen from China
seen from Macao SAR China
seen from Australia
seen from Sweden
seen from South Korea
seen from Australia
seen from Italy
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Belgium
seen from United States
seen from Switzerland
seen from Switzerland
seen from Switzerland
seen from Netherlands
seen from Switzerland
seen from China
seen from T1
© Nicholas DePaoli
Sept’19
Julee+Cousteau
Collecting and sorting seeds is one of my favorite ways to learn about my surroundings. It allows me to get a literal feel for the ways that different plants have moved through their lifecycles alongside me, and especially the mechanisms they produce for seed dispersal. I’m currently fascinated by the structural capacity of seed pods that tighten and become spring-loaded as they dry. At some point of water loss or disturbance these pods can then explode open, sending their seeds flying in all directions for scattered germination.
This week I took an overnight to ground down at the dunes—to start a new day immersed in that ecology. Currently, many of the unique plants that thrive in coastal dune landscapes have finished a round of flowering, so it was a great opportunity to collect seeds.
On this visit I also got to meet some new friends for the first time who thrive in summer mornings among blooming dune buckwheat: western sheepmoths. The birds hadn’t caught on to them yet, so they were evvvverywhere.
© Nicholas DePaoli
© Nicholas DePaoli
Sept’19
Kate+Cousteau
Jul’19