Even though spring arrived late in the northeast this year - after an interminably long and cold winter - the season quickly caught up and has been spectacular. The highlight so far has been to finally photograph a double-flowered specimen of the very rare Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) I had seen the species just about to bloom once before and was thrilled to finally see a prime-bloom specimen. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) and Pink Lady's-Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) were growing in the same area. To my eye the Pink Lady's-Slipper flower is one of the most fascinating in its morphology of all our native orchids; the lip structure is quite lurid in appearance and also quite anthropomorphic - complete with a pair of "eyes" when viewed from the front. I took a series of macro close-ups using ringflash which reveal all of the floral detail of this remarkable orchid.

I also visited a favorite site for Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) and was not disappointed; huge colonies filled the springtime woods and a few Large Yellow Lady's-slippers (Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens) lurked nearby...

My eleven year old daughter Christina accompanied me on a delightful excursion into a very mucky and treacherous fen chock full of Small Northern Yellow Lady's-Slippers (Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin) mostly in prime-bloom. Christina did me the favor of holding my white umbrella over the largest group to diffuse the midday light; I reciprocated by instructing her in the proper techniques utilized in "bog-trotting" i.e. walking in black muck without getting one's boots pulled off! We were mostly successful. I have also included images of a few choice wildflower species encountered along the way...Ah, the joys of the fleeting spring bloom! The Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) were photographed literally ten minutes from my apartment here in upper Manhattan in Inwood Hill Park, the only original, uncut forest remaining in our fair metropolis.

Note: Many of these images were taken on my IPhone, which is a great way to "grab" some shots that are of surprisingly high quality for documentation purposes. All other images are scanned film images. Oh, and I also travel by horse and buggy...

Enjoy!