Last week, on a trip to a lake cabin in northern Minnesota, we were excited to see two fun and rare sightings.
The first sighting occurred as we were driving. There was a black bear on the road in front of us, mid-morning. We slowed down, and as I fumbled for my camera, he crossed the road in front of us and continued through the ditch into the woods. It was fun to see. I’ve seen a black bear in the wild a few times, but not often, so when I do see one it’s exciting.
The other sighting was the beautiful showy lady slipper, Minnesota’s state flower.
We were staying at a privately-owned cabin up north, on twenty-five acres, with a creek running through the property, and shoreline on Lake Kabekona. The cabin sits up high on a hill with a well-worn path down from the cabin to the lake. (The view from the screened in porch was lovely. We saw an eagle several times, fortunately seeing the majestic eagle is no longer a rare sighting – but always a wonderful one.)
As we walked along the path we saw this beautiful flower in bloom, and upon closer look, we discovered it was the showy lady slipper. Moments before we had seen the yellow lady slipper along the shores of Lake Kabekona, then as we turned to go back to the cabin we noticed the elegant showy lady slipper. And…there were several buds on stems nearby, ready to gently open.
I have only seen the showy lady slipper blooming in the wild one other time, years ago, up near Lake Superior. I don’t think it’s very common to see one in the wild, unless you know where it is located.
We made our way down every morning to check on this wonderful beauty. It was our morning devotion, appreciating and praising God for his unique and bountiful creations.