Cheep thrills

Three years ago when I was hiking in the forest of Espoon keskuspuisto I did an unexpected discovery. I spotted a plant that had resemblance to the lily of the valley. The shape of the leaves were similar but they grew upwards from a green stem. The flowers were more oblong. I had never seen these plants before. There was something very tender about them. That was the first time to see and also photograph them.

After I'd come back with the shots I immediately looked in my book of plants growing in Finland. So I found out that the plants were Scented Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum odoratum). They are in bloom for a very short time so the last two years I missed to see them.

I have been planning for a while to go on a Solomon's seal hunt. I have seen that the lily of the valley isn't in bloom quite yet, but I wanted to make a test hike to see if I could find one of my favorite plants.

So today the light was great, air a bit on the warm side (not that I'd be complaining). It was about a 20 minutes bike ride and then a 45 minutes hike to the place. I was not exactly sure where I had spotted the Solomon's seal before, but I had some clue.

When I arrived to the first possible spot I didn't see any of the plants so I walked further. I walked and walked and almost gave up. Suddenly I saw a steep rock with familiar leaves on the top. Yes, there they were!

I got so carried away that I threw my backpack in the bushes and put my camera strap around my neck and arm so that I could climb up the rock. I was telling myself: "focus, focus, focus" because the rock was very steep and covered with moss. I had to be very careful so that I wouldn't fall and hurt myself.

I got up and crawled as low as I could to get a good angle. As the rock was very inclined I had to strain myself not to fall down. I have no idea for how long I shot, but for a good while. When I felt that I'd got what I had aimed for I started to glide slowly down the rock. My heart was beating, my knees felt week and I was shaking. I felt that I got a huge reward. I was so giddy that I had to call my aunt about this. I knew that she'd understand. My thrills are truly cheap.

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