Odds are getting better that a small pleasure is heading my way, if I just keep my eyes open.
All summer I've been monitoring a particular patch of rattlesnake plantain orchid in the woods at Lake Katharine, visiting once or twice a week to see the checkered leaves send up a stalk that got a taller each visit and developed a bud that kept swelling until it looked like it was getting ready to pop, and all week long as I worked back home I'd wonder whether I would get back to the woods in time to see the blossoms before they got picked or trampled or otherwise destroyed.
Then last Monday morning my husband joined me on an early hike and while I was scanning the area to the right of the path to find my familiar orchid, he looked to the left and found another rattlesnake plantain also getting ready to blossom. Twice as many to monitor! Odds are getting better.
Then this morning I saw four more in different parts of the woods, for a total of six patches of rattlesnake plantain orchid getting ready to burst into bloom, mostly located in places where they're unlikely to get trampled. From the looks of the swelling buds, I ought to have something to see when I come back next week.
This is what my life has become: working diligently all week long at home so that I can pile into the car on Friday and drive 90 minutes in hopes of seeing a diminutive orchid in full bloom. Who knows, maybe this is as good as it gets.
 |
| The tallest stalk is about 12 inches |
 |
| This one barely peeks out from under a mossy log |
No comments:
Post a Comment