9 Views from the annual Mid-Winter Orchid Exhibition @ the SmithsonianMuseum of Natural History, View #1

orchid00, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

After visiting the National Museum of the American Indian, I made my way over to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. And while snow, sleet, and icy rain spit upon The Mall, I spent a casual 30 minutes admiring one of nature's most fascinating forms of flora. The entire exhibition was displayed in a single long room and the air was full of the sweet smells that hundreds of orchids were unleashing in the hopes of discovering a butterfly, a bee, a hummingbird, a fly, or a moth...even a bat. All this was spent on the visitors' olfactory delights while the hopeful orchids' procreative desires were offered to no avail.

Still, a wonderful way to assuage the heart's desire for Spring! Enjoy the rest of these 9 views.