He'd never drawn before. Then he was asked to depict the Colombian rain forest he knew so well. Naturalists cherish the ink-and-watercolor works of Abel Rodriguez. And so do art lovers.

The water is high this time of year, and the forest is flooded. Catherine guides the canoe into a shadowy maze of maple and oak. It looks more like a bayou in Louisiana than a New England river.

Every winter, when sunlight hits at the right angle, visitors to Virginia's First Landing State Park are treated to a mesmerizing rainbow light show courtesy of the park's bald cypress swamp.