The wild rhododendron, the state flower of West Virginia, is blooming now. Not as showy as the cultivated garden varieties, they are lovely nonetheless.

In the mountains, they grow in impentrable thickets so dense you have to navigate around them.

Trust me, I've tried to go through them. You can't duck under the branches and as much as you try to find openings, they are far and few between. Eventually, you find yourself in the middle of a thick green jungle wondering why you even tried and how the heck you're going to get back out.

At this point, you are so frustrated you find yourself flailing at the branches and wishing you had a machete. But it would be almost criminal to destroy these beautiful bushes that have asserted their dominance over your puny human efforts to take the seemingly more expeditious route.

So you learn to just enjoy their beauty and respect their domain.