I am back from a weekend church retreat at Shrinemont, a retreat center of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, in the mountain village of Orkney Springs, where I was thrilled to spot some beautiful Pink Lady’s Slipper native orchids (Cypripedium acaule) in bloom at the edge of the forest during an early morning walk, just after the sun had risen.
The rays of soft golden light made the moments when I was capturing these images with my iPhone seem almost magical. So often we associate the beauty of flowers with manmade, cultivated garden, but these little beauties spring up from the forest floor when the conditions are right. My understanding is the soil requirements for these flowers are so specific that they cannot survive being dug up transplanted to new locations (and in some places it is illegal to remove them).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 