'Dianna Hunts Beauty'

Diana of the hunt moved through the woods with her bow and her company and her absolute authority over the wild places. But the hunt is also this: moving through the land with full attention, alert for what will stop you, ready for the moment when something offers itself to be seen. Smartweed in its pink precision. Alyssum low and honey-sweet. Artemisia holding the silver authority of the herbs. Gold dust over everything — the quality of morning light in late summer when the angle turns everything luminous. Hemlock umbels, those white lacework disks. Elderflower arriving last, completing the composition.

All of it in a green oval with brass filigree border — the Musée Botanique’s signature, the specimen mounted and named and entered into the permanent collection. The hunt ended here. This is what she found.

For the one who hunts beauty and always returns with something worth keeping.