I went looking deep in the forest for something. I wanted to know if it had come up yet. I found it. It was up. Not a good sign for the patch closer to the house which is still a no show.
Then I stumbled upon something I have been looking for for three years. I finally found the Showy Orchis, Galearis spectabilis. It wasn't where it was supposed to be. No where close.
As fate would have it, I also stumbled upon the Showy Orchis that was where it was supposed to be. Mind you this was a general location and it is like finding a needle in a haystack. I missed the bloom. The first week of May seems to be the time to go hunting for this orchid.
I found something else you are rarely ever going to see, the flower of a Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera. High winds sent a small branch fluttering to the ground. Mega moisture and shade allowed it to go ahead and bloom. Normally this flower is 80 to 100 feet up in the air.
It might be nice if one day there were real paths deep into the woods. It is so far down the list of things to do it may never be accomplished. The fact that there are no paths just might make finding things more likely since I never go the exact same way twice. I meander. And stop to look intently. Discerning the differences in a undulating tapestry of green takes a focused eye and glasses for close examination.
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6 comments:
We always find tulip poplar flowers on the gravel driveway every year. They are lovely. I know about those kind of walks I did one on Friday for 3 hours walked to the local river and back.
Hi Christopher! What lovely finds you had! I always take the zoom lens and try to get a good picture of the tulip poplar, but I can never get close enough. What a gorgeous bloom.
The stroll was good & productive. That is a lovely bloom. We had those trees at our place in N.C. I could see them but not that close.
I've never seen a wild orchard. It is unusual.
Wish I'd taken more pics while there.
That tree deserves some genetic engineering so we can have dwarfs.
A three-hour walk in the deep woods sounds like just the thing.
AAhhhh a stroll through the woods is just what the spirit needs occasionally. The orchid is a delight. I have never seen one and would love to. We have planted a tulip poplar in the side yard. I can't wait to find these little gifts lying about. I can just imagine all the warblers you would see/hear during migration. I wonder if you have cerulean warbler or wormeating warbler nesting on the mountain.
3 hours meandering in the woods ? Pretty soon we're going to see your face on the local news saying , "This man was last seen in the woods at such and such a time and is LOST ! " Take a compass ! This is the mother coming out in me, people get lost all the time in the woods. Be careful up there in NC !! Gina
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