The Bacchus Homestead

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu

We often go off on adventures through the woods, whether on foot, four-wheeler, or taking the back roads in the truck. Our purpose? To take a break, smell the roses, or just clear our minds. We always find a “treasure,” usually on someone else’s land! There are some really nice places in our neck of the woods, including gorgeous lakes with views that take your breath away. But our favorite thing to look for is flowers and edible plants.

We would visit other camps and see twenty or so lady slippers in their woodlines. Even the lot we rented out to seasonal campers had one on its property. Yet, every summer, we would scan our own woods and find nothing. We always wondered why, since our land had the same as the others: spruce trees, rocks, and more spruce trees. After doing some research, we found that they need a specific type of mold, sunlight, and perfect water conditions to grow.

For five years, we looked for these beautiful, enchanted blessings. Two years ago, we were walking and marking trees to take down when my partner saw it first. I had almost stepped on it—we found one, and it was white, right on our half of the property! It was an amazing thing to have nature’s orchid on our land to watch grow. I marked it out with bricks so it would be easier to spot in the spring.

The following spring, we found it again, growing strong. I scanned the area thoroughly to see if there were more, and I spotted it! A second one grew that summer into a beautiful shade of pink, just like the one across the street. I marked this one, too. Last spring, two came up where the pink one was, giving us three! Two pinks and one white. Amazing!

Last fall, before the logger came in, we stacked logs around them to protect them from the skidder, as the area cannot be disturbed. When I went out to check on them with snow still on the ground, it appeared the log stacking worked—no skidder marks! Since all the spruce around them was gone, my research pointed me to recreate their habitat using lattice and stakes to create shaded sunlight. So, fingers crossed, they will come back up!

This journey taught us that you can’t rush nature; you can only prepare the soil and hope for the best. We spent five years looking elsewhere for beauty that was waiting for the right moment to show up in our own backyard. It’s a reminder to slow down and protect the small wonders we find. For now, the logs are in place, and we’re ready to welcome our quiet, colorful neighbors back home.

Do you have any ‘treasures’ growing on your land?

As always, stay positive, stay focused, and remember with challenge comes change and change is good!