Orchid Field Trip

Had a quick trip to a location in the Cascades.  This is the only spot for that county known to contain Clustered Ladyslipper.

It was a glorious day.  I left early so I could stop by Sun Top during my drive.  I knew I could bring you this glorious shot.  It is one of my favorite vantage points.

The snow will stay on this mountain year round, but the lower peaks really are late in melting off.

But that is not stopping the upper elevation flowers from doing their thing.  Here the morning sun really made things pop.  This is Beargrass and a little Syrphiae fly.  Click on the photo to enjoy this pretty insect.

A tangle of Red Columbine in the rocks.

A Western Anemone is more commonly called a Tow-headed Baby, due to its fuzzy , hairy seedhead.  I hope to get up here when they set seeds.

It was fun to spot the stamens in these Lupin blossoms.

Continuing on after many more miles where Pearly Mae performed brilliantly, I met with a small group and we hiked a ways to find these lovely and rare orchids.  Last year we visited some in another part of the state and they were very difficult to find in the underbrush.

Today they were right underfoot.

Clustered Ladyslipper aka Brownie Ladyslipper.

They come in a pale and a red form.  Some we saw last year were much redder, but these were bountiful and so easily viewed.  What a fun treat.

There were also some Western Coralroot and this form was so pretty with both pale and purple coloration

It was so nice to get up into the alpine area.  Many of the familiar alpine flower hikes are still snowed under and I suspect we will not have much of a year again.

...Tra La

Further adventures in flower seeking last Saturday. My friend Ron Hanko has several blogs about nature and orchids of the Pacific Northwest... http://nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/ http://ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/ He told me his orchid club was having a show on Saturday at the Skagit Valley Garden Center. How convenient is that, right along the Freeway on the way to/from Washington Park!?! Do you sense method to my madness? I knew there would be something wonderful to see so I made it my must do. The garden center had many nice things about but I particularly loved these pussywillows. A Weeping Pussywillow

little cat

French Pussywillow. The wind was blowing and that added to the charm of the yellow tipped catkins.

Inside the main building the Orchid enthusiasts had their plants up for judging. Ron featured his Orchid Mountain.

Oh, it took my breath away. Inside this case was filled with orchids small and even smaller yet. Impossible small. Tiny small...teeny. Ron has featured many of them in his blog "Orchids in Bloom". You can see his report about the event and some of his wonderful pictures. ( he has a new camera too )

http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/

Here are a few of the photos that turned out. I hope I got the i.ds correct. I am sure Ron will let me know.

Trisetella gennata.

Lepanthes manabina. I recognize this from Rons Blog. A fuzzy leaf serves as a platter for the minute flower. The stem you see here, barely thicker than the base of a cats whisker. Visit Rons Orchid in Bloom blog to find out how the show went and to see another picture of this wonderful plant.

Lepanthopsis astrophora. It reminds me of some odd bit of hair fashion. The flowers bobble at the end of stems that spray out, thinner than the stem of the manatina. The body of the flower I would estimate not much longer than a rice grain.

This Dendrochilum wenzellii blooms in a long chain.

Finally this frustrating subject. I should have tried for more shots, the focus is off on this one. Bulbophyllum sharese "red spiders" I would estimate not more than the width of a 50 cent piece... 14 different flowers connected by the thinnest of stems.

Can you imagine transporting these little gems???

I could not resist taking pictures of these simply because of their form and beauty.

Jumellea aracnantha

Dendrobium hybrid "Princess Asai"

I was thrilled to get the opportunity to experience the range of form and size orchids can have.

Return to Red Top

I returned to Red Top Saturday to check on a few plants I have been keeping an eye on.


The season has been odd this year and today shows that what I though might happen has come true. All season many have said the plants are lagging behind by three weeks. Today I see that many plants came and went and "Poof" many are past it.


But that is OK. I hiked up the Blue Creek Trail to Red Top and then decided to return down via the Forest Service Road 9702. On this road I had some previous butterfly encounters and I knew there was a boggy area that might yield something fun.


Right were the FS road starts at Hwy 97 there is an abandoned log cabin. I found a plant growing early in the spring. It was only a pair of leaves but their feel and structure screamed "orchid" to me. I went back today and sure enough a very large Elegant Piperia was in bloom. This was the first time I had seen this plant in person.

When I parked my car to visit this spot the area was filled with clouds of moths. Many of them landed on the car and on me. I managed a few shots and I received word that the id is probably Western Spruce Budworm moth. I noticed that here and up to a certain elevation level there is extensive damage to the growing tips of most of the conifer trees. There were many birds about feeding on the moths.

Hiking up the very steep trail I finally found Rattlesnake Plantain in bloom. I believe this is the latest blooming orchid of the season.

Other than that, most plants were way past blooming. The ground was very dry. I did encounter an interesting mixed flock of Nuthatch and Brown Creepers. There was a lot of activity on one dead tree. Obviously a tasty larder of bugs and grubs. I could hear pounding and breaking of bark flakes.

I heard a lot of helicopter activity and when I finally reached a clearing saw one fly over with a water bomb bucket. There were at least 6 round trip passes while I hiked up and I was hoping to get a picture from the top but by then the flight passage had stopped. The fire lookout was manned and the volunteer said the flights were landing or dropping below the ridge line into Esmeralda Basin. He said their was no fire there and thought they might be practicing. The wind at the top of the ridge was fierce and cold. Clouds were quickly moving in from the west.

I decided then to hike down via the FS road to see if there might be some nice butterfly action. I had some great encounters in the past at one spot where water from snow melt flooded the road and made mud. Butterflies love to feed on mud.

There was absolutely no water to be found except a few moist slopes. There was a lot of thistle and Sub-alpine Daisy and that is where the butterflies allowed the best pictures. Many would tease me by landing on the road, as if to gather minerals from the dry soil.

Bee on Sub-alpine Daisy

Atlantis Fritillary , Speyeria atlantis

But some thistle allowed great pictures.

Calcedona Checkerspot.

I was also happy to fine some Pinedrops. This amazing saprophyte is covered in sticky hairs which trap bugs to supplement the plants diet. Having no chlorophyll they take nourishment from other plants and many process bugs as well. They can grow quite tall. This one is at least two feet high and still not spreading its flowers.

This one is starting to unfold the flowers.

When the plant dies it will leave a dried skeleton which might persist for a year, marking the spot to watch the nest season.

The boggy area was filled with grass, Paintbrush and Bog-orchids. I found a lucky butterfly as well







Greenish Blue Plebejus saepiolus

The place I left my car was where I found Mountain Ladyslipper earlier this season. I looked in the bushes here and found more Elegant Piperia as well as the dried remnants of the Ladyslippers. I could recognize the individual plants from my photos last time. They are still lovely.

The Big Prize

is actually very little, no more than 1 inch long

Fairyslipper Orchid at Washington Park.

I knew I would find one and this is it!