Yesterday, Bob and I made a return trip back to the watershed, we call 'Dragon Valley', where we counted a large amount of Arethusa bulbosa (Dragon Mouth) orchids last year, to continue the count on several areas that we didn't have time. We hit two areas on this trip.
Bob, chose an area along a small tributary being extremely swampy, squishy, with very saturated sphagnum, with hummocks, all types of ericaeous bushes, where branches seem to be always in your face. I knew about this area, as I made several trips from one side to the other in the past. I told Bob that this is tough brutal territory. I don't think Bob heard me, as we made our way down the heart of it following a small stream. It was extremely rough and slow going as the only footing we had was either on the edge of a hummock or a root. If not, one bad step you can go down over your boots in a split second..
It's the game you have to play, if you want to see Arethusa in the wild. You have to go where they live. This is why it's a rare plant to most people. We found a good numbr of them, but not in the numbers we did ls last year. We had to work hard for the ones we did find. I think we're up to 1100 over the two years, but Bob has the offical totals.
This is not all we did. We took in the whole experience of an area probably no one ever been in before. In addition I saw my first Jack-in-the-pulpit in the pines. Bob found a nice colony of them. And my second extremely rare white colored Arethusa. Bob found two during our last year's trip.
By the time we got back to Bob's vehicle, we were a sight to be told on how we looked.
As always with Bob, it was a great outing, but a tough one.
Footnote: While searching the Net for info on Arethusa, I came across the name 'Thoreau', as in Henry David Thoreau. He had written several entries in his journal of him finding the Arethusa plant back in the 1850's. From there I got a link to some of his quotes. I sent a few to Bob. He responded back to me his variation to one. Here's Bob's take....
"When I find a new and rare plant, I feel blessed to be at the right place and at the right time, in awe at nature's secrets and gratified
that I have the strength and wherewithal to move in an environment that others do not or will not encounter"
Now some photos.
Can you see me on the hummock?
There's three on this hummock.
It's all about the hat.
Jack-in-the- pulpit. Those small plants at the bottom of the photo are more.
Resting against the tree.
Royal Fern in the middle of the stream. I believe that whole mound is its root system
There's one in there. They hide well.
Bob, chose an area along a small tributary being extremely swampy, squishy, with very saturated sphagnum, with hummocks, all types of ericaeous bushes, where branches seem to be always in your face. I knew about this area, as I made several trips from one side to the other in the past. I told Bob that this is tough brutal territory. I don't think Bob heard me, as we made our way down the heart of it following a small stream. It was extremely rough and slow going as the only footing we had was either on the edge of a hummock or a root. If not, one bad step you can go down over your boots in a split second..
It's the game you have to play, if you want to see Arethusa in the wild. You have to go where they live. This is why it's a rare plant to most people. We found a good numbr of them, but not in the numbers we did ls last year. We had to work hard for the ones we did find. I think we're up to 1100 over the two years, but Bob has the offical totals.
This is not all we did. We took in the whole experience of an area probably no one ever been in before. In addition I saw my first Jack-in-the-pulpit in the pines. Bob found a nice colony of them. And my second extremely rare white colored Arethusa. Bob found two during our last year's trip.
By the time we got back to Bob's vehicle, we were a sight to be told on how we looked.
As always with Bob, it was a great outing, but a tough one.
Footnote: While searching the Net for info on Arethusa, I came across the name 'Thoreau', as in Henry David Thoreau. He had written several entries in his journal of him finding the Arethusa plant back in the 1850's. From there I got a link to some of his quotes. I sent a few to Bob. He responded back to me his variation to one. Here's Bob's take....
"When I find a new and rare plant, I feel blessed to be at the right place and at the right time, in awe at nature's secrets and gratified
that I have the strength and wherewithal to move in an environment that others do not or will not encounter"
Now some photos.
Can you see me on the hummock?
There's three on this hummock.
It's all about the hat.
Jack-in-the- pulpit. Those small plants at the bottom of the photo are more.
Resting against the tree.
Royal Fern in the middle of the stream. I believe that whole mound is its root system
There's one in there. They hide well.
