The Return of the Ladyslippers

I discovered these beauties yesterday and took the camera to them this morning.  A total of 7 blooms this year! Almost every year for the last 9 years I have lived here, the twins return in all their splendor.

And each one is a masterpiece in its own right.

Be the Thing You See

John Moffitt

To look at any thing,

If you would know that thing,

You must look at it long:

To look at this green and say

'I have seen spring in these

Woods,' will not do--you must

Be the thing you see:

You must be the dark snakes of

Stems and ferny plumes of leaves,

You must enter in

To the small silences between

The leaves,

You must take your time

And touch the very peace

They issue from.

Source: To Look at Any Thing