a walk in the woods

It was definately cooler today. Rained last night and was 31 degrees early this morning. By 11 the sky had cleared and the sun began peeking out and we were well underway on the trail. The further we walked the more the ffowers seemed to open. They too were seeking the warmth of the sun.

The wet areas were a blanket of red to purple fringed polygala...a thumb size flower that grows in colonies among the pine needle duff. The are tubular in shape with petals shaped like wings on either side.

The drier areas had a variety of Lady-Slippers in both yellow and red. This year I did not see the more rare white Lady Slipper. I suspect that it is just too early for it to bloom.

Some times these orchids grow individually and other times they appear in clusters. You may see them in the dense woods and also on a partly sunny hillside. Either place they make a dramatic showing.

I also like the to point out some of the oddities like Club mosses which are desendents of ancient Paleozic trees. Today we saw three types, staghorn which grows low to the ground and spread out like antlers. Tree clubmoss which looks like a miniture evergreen tree, and the Shiny clubmoss which is bright green.

Among my other favorits is the brightly colored Indian Paint Brush. Its electric red-orange is like a signal light in the forest. Nearby grows the ground hugging bunch berry. It has waxy green leaves and a single white flower which developes into a bright red berry in the fall. Its companions are the fragent smelling wintergreen with its glossy saw toothed edge leaves.

Lots more species were seen this is but a few of the many varieties we saw this morning.