Lady slippers!

Geof and Pat and Marina and I took a long rainy walk in the woods. A long, rainy, muddy, drippy, verdant, beautiful walk in the woods. With lady slippers. Lots of lady slippers. Years ago, we would see lady slippers all throughout the woods. Then they became endangered and there were few of them to be found. Some years, none. (They take a long time to grow, and they were over-picked.) Then they became protected,  and slowly they came back. Now you can see hundreds in the woods on a good day. Today was a good day. After we walked in the woods, I walked on the road, and down to the cove, and everywhere I went, I saw lady slippers. Each time, each one brought me joy. Joy in the moment, but also joy in the recovery, the return to these woods. Joy that they did not go extinct, and that our protections worked.