Dancing

Dwarf Lake Iris

The morning fog lifts to reveal a roadside filled with small flowers, each thin green leaf glowing brightly and bearing a dewdrop that glistens beside its showy purple bloom.
Barely tall enough to cover the toe of my boot, this carpet of a hundred small faces turned to the sky rolls up and over the open space.




Scattered at their edge, where the rocky trail yields to a dense cedar and spruce forest, brilliant, winged, pink flowers snuggle close to the base of the aromatic trees.

Fringed Milkwort

I see a yellow slipper peeking from beneath the shaded grove.
This is northern Michigan,
and I believe this must be where I left my dancing shoes.

Yellow Lady's Slipper

I've just returned from a fabulous weekend workshop in Presque Isle County, Michigan.
Hosted by the NettieBay Lodge and led by Jim McCormac, we combed the countryside from the shore of Lake Huron to the Ocqueoc River and all that is between them. Fens and fields, wetlands and woods...and young forests of Jack Pine...there is a richness here that many have never seen.
And plenty of dancing shoes, if you've misplaced yours.