Another thought from Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez:The land is like poetry: it is inexplicably coherent, it is transcendent in its meaning, and it has the power to elevate a consideration of human life.
Monotropa uniflora grows all around our cottage. It lacks chlorophyll and is parasitic on fungi, which in turn take nutrients from tree roots, so it thrives in dense shade. But each evening the setting sun slants through the trees from the road cut and swamp west of our property, illuminating the plants like pale ghosts with light from another world.