P1010886

A

Amazing! That is the only word to describe my experience.

We vacationed this week in North Carolina. A small little island just minutes away from Wilmington............which is a great historic town. Shops are rather disappointing, but the charm oozes between the thick buckled bricks of the cobblestone walkways. We found a very quaint garden shop..................Greg wanted to buy something for my b-day ..........on a back table up against a wall my eyes fell on a replica of a bee skep( a domed hive made of twisted straw). Companion less and solitary, it sat by itself...........so unique, so wondrous. Although it was a likeness, I had never seen one outside of the pages of my bee books and journals. These skeps were used across the pond in pre-1500. I don't know if they ever made their way to North America. Being a beekeeper I could only marvel in awe and knew it had just found its permanent home.

We had lunch in an oyster bar in the old Cotton Mill which faced the Cape Fear River. Had the best charbroiled hamburger.......done to perfection on a toasted bum. My mouth is watering now.

Greg took a tour on the Carolina Battle Ship that was in the war while I danced through the parking lot collecting Spanish moss that hung from the trees like antique lace.

What made the trip so unique was the Venus Flytrap. The only place in North America they grow in their own natural habitat is in Carolina State Park, just minutes from our condo. So of course I had to see them. This would most probably be my only chance.

I inquired with a park ranger and he told me they were located on the Venus Flytrap Trail........behind a rickety wooden section of fence with a "Do not Enter" sign............beyond that, he said, you will find them.

What he didn't tell me was that they are so small and so few that had I been looking straight at them, I wouldn't have seen them. Lucky for me there were others searching. So I shared my information with them and we were all very gingerly walking off the trail and through the grasses and plants............our heads bent low......whisper quiet as if our silence depended on finding them. For the life of me I could not spot any......just as I was about to go back to the ranger station........someone yelled, "We found them". And there they were. Tiny clusters of green and red traps. And they were so lovely. The Venus Flytrap is a small plant. Their trapping mechanism is so specialized that it can distinguish between living prey (flies, spiders and other insects) and non prey like rain drops.

The edges of their lobe are fringed by stiff hair-like protrusions. They are both unique and magical. Life is full of wonder..................

We're introducing a new photo page, and you can check it out early. Take me to the future!