Orchids in Bloom

Lady slippers surrounding a rotting stump

The mere sight of a lady’s slipper takes your breath away, but when you become aware of their germination process, and what it takes to produce a plant, they become even more of a wonder. According to Jack Sanders in The Secrets of Wildflowers, the seed of a lady’s slipper is extremely small, and has no food to provide it with sustenance. However, there is a certain fungus, Rhizoctonia, which can digest the outer cells of a lady’s slipper’s seeds. If this fungus and a lady’s slipper seed come in contact with each other, and if the fungus digests the outer cells of the seed but not the inner cells, and if the inner cells absorb some of the fungus’s nutrients that it obtained from the soil then germination may take place. Given all these ifs, it’s a wonder that there are as many of these beauties in our woodlands as there are!

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Snowy adventures

Recently I embarked on a solo backcountry snowshoeing trip in the woods of northern Maine. Given the amount of snow which has fallen this year this was a great time to do some bush whacking and possibly find some hidden gems off trail. With me was a topo map of the area, a compass, 2 days worth of supplies, and a pair of wooden snowshoes made by my great grandfather when he was my age.

It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid twenties without a cloud in the sky; perfect for making good time through the forest. I headed north in the direction of a stream which snakes down a mountain with plans of following that up. With the sun at my back I embarked, easily floating over what would be waist deep snow. The scenery was pretty constant for most of the journey; dense pine cover with a thick underbrush, and the occasional game trail which consisted mainly of deer and coyote tracks. After nearly an hour my course intersected with the stream, just 2 miles from my starting point. The majority was frozen, but it is a very wild stream being fed from at least 2 mountains so there is enough turbulent water to keep the ice dangerously thin.

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Cows?

On a cool Sunday morning this past fall while adventuring in Hong Kong my fiance and I decided to experience some of the more remote aspects of the country. We boarded a boat in Central for the 1 hour ferry ride to Mui Wo located on the southeast side of Lantau Island; one of the country's less inhabited locales. This location provides a stark contrast to the busy life of Hong Kong with it's long sandy beach, vast forests, and relaxed lifestyle.  Upon reaching the island we caught a nearby bus to the 2nd stage of the 43 mile trail which travels roughly around the south side of the island. We had planned a 7 mile day hike traversing the 2nd and 3rd highest mountains in the country, Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak.

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