Doing a bog walk is rather like gambling for me. It is addicting in the sense that you never know for sure what you are going to find on any particular day. When you have a good day, however, (like viewing a wild orchid that your haven’t seen before) it keeps you coming back for more. I just had what I consider one of those “big win” days on the bog walk.
I went in search of the the grass-pink wild orchid after reading on the park’s Facebook page that the orchid was currently in bloom. I found a number of them along the bog walk. This is an orchid I had not seen before. An interesting tidbit about this orchid (found in “Orchids of the Northwoods” by Kim and Cindy Risen) is how it pollinates. Bees are attracted to the yellow hairs on the lip. When the bee lands, its weight causes the hinged lip to close. The bee is captured inside the orchid. As is struggles, it picks up pollen. When it flies away moments later it is ready to spread the pollen the next time it lands.
When I got to the park, I was informed at the reception area that a white orchid was blooming at the end of the board walk. I spotted that one too. My reference book (see above) indicates that it is the rare white form of the showy lady slipper. It is beautiful.
Another flower that I may have seen, but had never ID’ed before is St. Johns wort. This flower is currently used in alternative medicine as a treatment for depression.
Earlier blooms have now turned into berries. Two of my favorites, blueberries and dwarf raspberries, were present along the walk.
Flowers and berries were not the only sightings. There were dragonflies and butterflies too. I spotted this beauty, a male widow skimmer dragonfly, on the first part of the trail.
Not to be left out, this smallish butterfly, a northern crescent, found a perch he seemed to like and was joined by a friend. Much to my delight, they hung around, tickling my toes, for about ten minutes.
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