On Monday July 17 2017, Marie and I took a trip to one of our favorite sites, Happy Boots! A wet, muddy, jungle of a forest in the Allegan State Game Area. It never disappoints!
We saw 12 Purple Fringed Orchids blooming, I'm sure there were more than 12 but they are not always easy to find in this green tangle of a maze. But they are so fun to find.
First here is a look at the place.
Happy Boots
The plants you see here are Lizard's Tail (Saururus cernuus). The Purple Fringed Orchid enjoys hiding among these Lizard tails.
And below are the Purple Fringed Orchids.
Here are some other things I found interesting on this trip.
Moth - Haploa clymene
Wild Leek blooming, the leaves of this plant come up very early in spring but the leaves die away and now it blooms! Just a stem coming right out of the dirt with the flower.
Here at Sand Creek, there was a small bridge but it was replaced recently with this culvert.
Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis helleborine) a non-native but still quite pretty.
There were many of these guys flying around. Very friendly.
This is one of Marie's and my favorite wildflowers, Heal All (Prunella vulgaris). From above the plant, then straight on. I think the flowers look like tiny orchids.
And then we found Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens) Figwort family, blooming. It use to bloom near the bridge but that area was destroyed when the culvert was put in, luckily the plant found a new home.
Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) This is a wildflower, not a mushroom or fungus.
Spotted Touch-Me-Not, also called Jewelweed, (Impatiens capensis)
Another Purple Fringed Orchid, just hanging out in the woods.
I spotted these little fungus on this tree, taking a closer look they are tiny mushrooms of some sort.
We saw a few butterflies, moths, and dragonflies - this one below just stopped fluttering for a second on this leaf.
This was just another of our fun outings in the woods. I have so many more great trips to tell you about, soon I hope.
