Follow me on a dragon hunt along this bracken bordered path into the bog. Don’t be afraid, but be careful where you put down your feet. The bog is never as it seems.
Moss that appears ankle deep will sometimes make you sink up to your hips in green. Grassy and muddy open areas can be as deceiving and treacherous as quicksand.
Ancient northern peoples often hid their treasures and their dead in bogs. The bog swallowed them whole, preserving them indefinitely for centuries with its magical mud. Perhaps that’s why the dragons are here…
Known through the ages as protectors of treasure, dragons are part of the lore of many cultures. Sometimes good, sometimes evil, in Medieval England they were symbols of greed. Back then, conquering a dragon was a metaphor for conquering one’s desires for the material world.
Nobody knows what treasures are protected here by these dragon’s mouth orchids. One can only imagine. Dare you look down into the mouth of a dragon and ask?
Although they have mouths, these dragons aren’t likely to tell us what treasures are buried here. They’ve kept their secrets well hidden for centuries already. Why tell now?
More information about the dragon’s mouth orchid can be found at John Crabtree’s Mushrooms and Wildflowers of Nova Scotia.
Text and images copyright Amy-Lynn Bell 2012