Little Bang Theory

Baby Sundews! April 21, 2008

Spring springs, and things bloom.

On the schist road cuts delineating the northerly edge of Route 2 in Florida, a relatively rare colony of sundews thrives on the perpetually wet biomass draping the soft, digestible rock. I’d photographed them before, with my fancy point-and-shoot, and the results were gratifying.

So I went back there today, scheming to catch the beginning of the seasonal cycle of these cool little plants.

After some crafty parking in a pre-improved pull-out (I specialize in Minor Modifications to Existing Structures) I got out my ladder and camera kit and started walking the narrow space between the traveling lane and the jagged rock wall.

Ten minutes later, I saw what I came for and set up for the capture:

This will be the inside cover photo for my forthcoming book, “Half-Assed Photography: The Rube Goldberg School.”

My prey was cornered, cut off from escape, powerless as I trimmed away last year’s intertwining grasses, now brown with memories of their season. I opened her up for Spring to see, for the Sun to see, for You to see:

This little beauty is a thumb’s width across, but will soon be three times that.

At the risk of setting the bar where life doesn’t lead me, I’m planning on a seasonal goal of visiting selected natural sites repeatedly over the course of a year, and trying to discern the changes. This and the Green River Moss photos will be the first installments.