Sloths and Orchids

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So...... I've been taking a lot of photos of sloths lately. But I've also been taking a lot of orchid photos. Apparently I am as intrigued by the emerging sloth as I am the emerging orchid.

Sloths spend much of their day curled up in tree. They're not much to look at in this curled up state--head buried in their fur, limbs wrapped around body and tree. But then magic happens. When the time is right, the sloth unfurls. They untuck their heads, reveal their slothy expression, slowly unwind and spread their limbs, and explore their surroundings as only a sloth can--slowly, calculatedly. It is unique and mesmerizing--a sloth revealing itself.

Orchid flowers spend what seems like an eternity wound up in a compact little bud. As the bud matures, it plumps up and expands, the colors become more vibrant. And then, one day, when the time is right, the bud unfurls. The flower emerges. The petals unwind and reveal themselves. It's a slow process--a bit more of the flower exposed each day. The magnificence of a perfectly formed orchid is finally revealed!

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Comments

[Deborah Kate Hammond]

GAH!
I love this so much. Seeing you with sloth and orchid. Beautiful joy! Thanks for taking me there with you today.

[Deb and Michael]

More please
More sloth pictures please!

[Martin Pell]

Orchids are the sloths of flowers
I had this realization as I've been watching my orchid bloom since (if you count growing the flower stem) just before Christmas. As of now, the seventh of 11 flowers is set to open in the next few days. The whole process is agonizingly slow by our own circadian standards, but it is a beautiful one, as you already know and appreciate. So I had this idea about orchids and sloths and thought, I'll bet I'm not the first person to make this connection, so I Googled it. That's the story of how I found this blog post. I love the pictures. Yes. Sloths and orchids. Orchids and sloths. They are the same