Wild Rhodies, Long Pond trail

On a quick and recent walk in the neighborhood, I spotted something truly magnificent: the first blossoms on the wild rhododendrons. Of course, there'd been "rhodie" flowers earlier—in May, to be exact—but those were blossoms of the cultivated variety. Our native species, Rhododendron maximum, doesn't get going until after the 4th of July, so spotting one on our road sent me to one of my favorite places on earth: the Long and Ell Ponds refuge, which features an almost Appalachian R. maximum thicket. This extensive evergreen forest is a must-see area, and when I drove down the dirt road to the parking area, I knew that I'd picked the perfect time to visit, for there were "Rosebay" rhododendrons in perfect flower everywhere I looked. The show was just as good from the trail, and I wasn't the only organism drinking in the spectacle.