Category Archives: wildflowers

Beauteous deceit

  So far, I have photographed six species of wild orchids in Kokanee Creek Park. Always the first to bloom is the beautiful fairy slipper. It has two varieties, eastern and western; the Park gets each. As with all flowers, … Continue reading

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Ghosts aplenty

  Each July and August, I keep an eye out for Indian pipe, a flower also known as the ghost plant. Only now and then will I encounter the strange plant that lacks chlorophyll. It has carved out an ecological … Continue reading

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Upland flowers

  At this time of year, mountain meadows are awash with wildflowers. Here are four of the myriad species. The pearly everlasting gains its name both from its appearance, and from the ease with which it can be dried for … Continue reading

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Indian pipe

  The season of indian pipe is upon us again. That it has appeared this early in the summer may be a result of our recent rain and cloud. Although it looks like a fungus, indian pipe is indeed a … Continue reading

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Mountain lady’s slipper

  This is the third wild orchid found in the last few weeks. The first was the fairy slipper; second was the striped coralroot; this time it is the mountain lady’s slipper. Two mountain lady’s slippers in the forest.  

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May goulash

  This is a collection of some of May’s images that did not have postings of their own. A honey bee has collected pollen from a wild rose, and is carrying it as a packet on its hind leg. Honey … Continue reading

Posted in birds, bugs, mammals, wildflowers | 9 Comments

Striped Coralroot

  The striped coralroot orchid is my second sighting of a wild orchid this year. The first was of the fairy slipper. OK, truth be told, I did not find this orchid on my own: a small child spotted it … Continue reading

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Fairy slipper

  The fairy slipper is perhaps the first wild orchid to bloom each spring. It seems to have evolved to fool the earliest of pollinators, queen bees, into pollinating it — yet the fairy slipper offers bees no rewards in … Continue reading

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April goulash

  This is a collection of April’s images that were not featured in a posting of their own. As spring rolls in, many new species appear, or change their behaviours. Early in the month, Trumpeter Swans were seen floating and … Continue reading

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Guttation of spring

  A sure sign of new springtime growth is guttation. The water drops on the grass in the morning might have been casually dismissed as being dew. Not so, they are guttation. OK, there was also some dew on the … Continue reading

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