blooming!

As I headed up the hill behind the barn yesterday, I saw this Moccasin flower quietly blooming. No fan fare. No drawing attention to itself. It is a wildflower that likes acid soil and damp woods. It cannot be transplanted because it depends on a complicated chemistry of things to exist. It likes it right where it is. That's kind of how I feel about this two acres on which we live. A long history and many years of being here have caused my tap root to go deep.

Because David saw a snake slither under the foundation when he bought this house, he always thought our street was named after the snake. Not so. Our street was named for the rare wildflower that grows quietly in our woods, trapping bugs in its pouch, who then pollinate it as they climb out. Also known as a Lady's Slipper, it is a member of the orchid family.

My brother Don just sent me this painting that our mother, Martha McLean,  had  done of a Moccasin flower in 1997.  I like to think she was inspired by the ones growing here, but then again, I'm sure they thrived in her damp woods as well.