The state of the state (flower, that is)

[Steve Foss]

It's getting to be showy ladyslipper blooming time up here in the boreal forest of the Minnesota Arrowhead, so I thought I'd bring out some images from last year. One set is from the Kabetogama State Forest, the other from a black spruce bog about 10 miles from Ely.

I sure love showy ladyslippers, and it was only last year when I was able to find some up in this neck of the woods.

Enjoy!

[dockothebay]

These are wonderful, Steve! I've never seen Lady's Slippers "in real life" but we're heading up to Crane Lake for a week then over to Vermillion for another week so I'm hoping !!

Do you think they will still be blooming in another week? I know we'll do some hiking in addition to fishing.

[Steve Foss]

Jackie, the images from Kabetogama State Forest (well north of Orr) were shot on June 20 last year, and they were the last ones in that bunch that had not started declining. They were found along an old logging road where it wasn't particularly wet.

The ones in the bog near Ely were shot on July 1. Black spruce bogs are cooler and more acidic than other environments up here so flowers that also bloom in other places tend to bloom later in the bogs.

This year all the flowers are a bit late. We had a cool, wet spring, so add a week to those dates I just mentioned and you'll be in the ballpark.

Likely you're iffy for showies in upland or mid-elevation environments around Crane Lake or Vermilion, but if you get a chance to look into some bogs you may be OK, depending on when you go.

And you should be sure to ask wherever you stop if anyone has seen showies.

[dockothebay]

Thanks Steve - We'll be at Crane from the 6th to the 13th and in Tower the 13-17, so probably a little bit late. I'll try to get into the bogs a bit and check with local folks as well.

In any case, I'm sure I'll find plenty of photo ops

[Steve Foss]

Jackie, you stand a decent chance of finding showies in lowland cold bogs when you're in the Crane Lake area.

Showies or not, it's all good!

[DonBo]

Beautiful flowers, beautiful shots. The last one especially does it for me.

[Dbl]

Excellent shots Steve, the first and last provide a beautiful dark background to make those flowers stand out.

[mmeyer]

Great stuff Steve. I also prefer the darker backgrounds of the first and last.

[DMN]

Nice shots Steve, I like the last the best.

I heard from a friend that the slippers were blooming pretty well in Itasca park on 6/28/08.

[finnbay]

Very nice! You scared me, Steve! Thought they were out and I missed them!

[Steve Foss]

Ken, I believe they ARE out right now. I'm checking a site with a client tomorrow, the one near Ely where I shot those with the green BG.

It's quite a bog slog, though. We'll see.