For the past ten years, I’ve learned to look carefully–right during this very week in May–for the secret lady slipper orchids. They bloom deep in the forest, but you have to look. You have to seek them like rare, hidden treasures. You’ll miss them if you walk by too quickly. It’s odd that they blend in even while boasting a pink, delicate slipper of a bloom.
When I find them in May, I cannot help but squeal with delight and clap my hands. I tell my family that there’s never just one. The lady slippers exist in enormous symbiotic communities as they support one another and the big trees towering over them. You’ll run down the path and find more and more. But keep looking. You’ll miss them if you aren’t careful.
