Today I had the amazing opportunity to see the extremely rare GHOST ORCHID in bloom. This pale off-white flower seems to float high up among the large cypress trees in the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in southwest Florida. The orchid, which clings to the tree by wrapping it’s roots around the tree’s trunk, was discovered just a couple of weeks ago. Orchid lovers from the around the world have journeyed to Florida to take a peak. Five delicate blossoms seem suspended in mid-air. But it is impossible to see the orchid without binoculars or a telephoto lens because it is at least 30 feet up and 150 feet from the boardwalk that takes visitors into the swamp.

Go to this site to see a photo of the orchid and read about its history: http://www.uhaul.com/supergraphics/orchid/natural-wonder.html

My other exciting natural find today was at the beach. As noted in my previous post, I love to hunt for sea shells. Today the interesting shells were not too plentiful, but the stranded star fish were. Over a dozen of these small, delicate sea creatures were washed ashore–clinging to the warm sand. After admiring their intricate construction and simple but beautiful shape, I gently tossed each back out to sea.

Stars fallen to earth–shining with beauty, with life.
May we all be such stars.