Found One!!!

 For a couple of weeks I've been checking on the area near Oakland Camp where I'm accustomed to find the Mountain Lady's Slipper around this time of year.  Over a week ago, I thought I spotted a young specimen that had not yet produced a bud. Yet several years ago when I first discovered these beauties, there were a couple dozen in bloom by May 18.  A couple of days after finding that first one of this year, it was gone.  Well, today I was lucky.  I wandered over an area of a couple of acres on which I found an abundance of blooming False Solomon's Seal, several Spotted Coralroots, and a few other species of spring wildflowers.  I was about to leave the area when I spotted the first bloom of the year (for me) of the Mtn. Lady's Slipper.  It's not fully open yet, so there are many days of fun photography ahead.  I'm expecting some out-of-town guests soon who will travel across the state to see these orchids, and now I won't need to disappoint them.  I wonder if I should camp out there to ensure it doesn't disappear like the one I saw last week.

Here's a closer view, and you can click on either photo to get even closer.  Tomorrow I hope to find time to post a number of photos of the Coralroots and other wildflowers I saw while searching for the Lady's Slippers.