Nature School :: Lunch with the Ladies

We took a walk on the Appalachian Trail yesterday for Nature School.  Honestly, we don't spend a whole lot of time on it, so Roan thought this was his first time.  This is a very busy time of year and our town is full of thru-hikers and Trail Days is this weekend.  I understand now what my dad said to me years ago, that our area has many great trails with much less traffic.

Still, it is a lovely trail, and I have walked all of it in our area: along high ridges, over rocky crags and down to drowsy streams.  There are many special things along the way and these pink lady's slippers are certainly so.

A friend tried her best at counting them over the weekend and arrived at 320 before she stopped.  Lady's slippers grow in colonies and these are found in acid soils under a grove of white pines.

We managed to find a spot to sit for our picnic where there weren't any growing.  They were in all stages of growth--very tiny to well-established.  According to the Enki materials, they take over ten years to mature and bloom.  We're reading The Legend of the Lady Slipper today, in fact.

Today also brings more work in the garden, since it's finally ready to plant.  I wish you all a Happy Friday!