As old as I am, I still learn and see new things every day. Sure, in many ways, I’ve seen and done it all, and a few folks think I’m wise beyond my years. But put a camera in my hands and send me into the woods, and I’m like a kid in a candy store for the very first time.
While hiking dirt paths and long-closed roads, sweating like a pig, and swatting at gnats from hell, I’m still surrounded by magic. It’s all around me! At 38, I saw a weird parasitic plant for the first time. Apparently it feeds off the mighty oak, not really hurting it, but depending on it for life. I’m not sure the oak gets anything in the deal.
I’ve stumbled on vast patches of wildflowers that I’ve never even seen until this year, and discovered that they didn’t smell like flowers at all, but pure unadulterated sweetness. In their density, they possessed color so bright they lit up the small clearing. Another flower I’ve found had a shape that lets it retain heat and odor in order to attract flies which do most of its pollination. In its oddity there is such beauty.
I’ve run across unfurling ferns, just emerging from their long winter hiatus. As many buds and flowers as I’ve seen in spring, I’ve never seen a fern do that…or even contemplated how they might come to life each year.
It is indeed a magical world, and the minute we stop discovering is the minute we stop living. Grab your camera and some comfortable shoes!
