live treasure

My first ever personal encounter with Arethusa bulbosa. This tiny plant is uncommon to rare across its entire range in northeastern North America, and I feel very lucky to have finally been able to see one.

Moment of earnestness: I love this stuff. Rare wildflower hunting. I swear, every time I have an experience like this, down on the ground amongst the ticks, sweating in the mid-day heat, futzing with my lens trying to get the focus just right while being as careful and respectful as I can be of the surrounding habitat, I'm that much more certain that I like this world better with these treasures in it. And I get that much more passionate about biodiversity conservation. Anyway, yeah... this is me at my most evangelistic. Please get involved!
MA. NH. VT. ME. CT. RI.