Archive for the 'flowers' Category
04
Jan
flora…again
03
Jan
flora
21
Dec
composites
22
Sep
Jordan Pond
My first day consisted of some grocery shopping (complete with Maine Blueberry Jam), a hike around Jordan Pond, a little drive off the beaten path where I discovered some enormous houses, and an amazing dinner at a French Bistro in Bar Harbor.
I never had the chance to explore the ponds during my last visit to Acadia so visiting them was a top priority on this trip. The ponds were developed during the glacial period. They supply drinking water to the communities on Mt. Desert Island so no swimming is allowed. I’ve never seen such clean, clear water in a body of water in my entire life. It was so clear that it looked like there was no water there. Apparently visibility ranges from 45-60 feet. I decided to take the Jordan Pond Shore Trail, a 3.3 mile moderate hike around Jordan Pond. The walk around the pond exceeded my expectations. There were so many micro-ecosystems along the route.
A boardwalk hovered above one side of the pond to prevent damage to the ecosystem.
Twisty, rooty trees lined the path…
Wildflowers emerging from little crevices…
The area was dense with new life that was bursting out everywhere…
Sundew (my favorite carnivorous plant!)…
There were a couple of these little bog areas that were hidden in little inlets of the pond….
The sky was the most amazing shade of blue and provided for some interesting reflections on the water…
The awesome rocks that lined the shore with a view of the North and South Bubbles in the background (yeah those two that look like breasts)…
17
Sep
more dandelions
15
Sep
dandelion
26
Aug
late summer flora
Please click on the images to license and download them on istockphoto.
24
Aug
crystalline
17
Aug
up close
26
Jan
Orchidaceae
Orchids are quite magnificent plants with upwards of 25,000 species found in almost every habitat on Earth!…including areas close to the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. Several things that we seem to encounter on a regular basis are derived from orchids including vanilla bean. It takes one single vanilla bean pod 8-9 months to ripen and because orchids have a very delayed blooming cycle, it’s easy to understand why vanilla bean is so expensive!
An exhibit of orchids recently started at Longwood Gardens. I had never been to Longwood Gardens before (I know, I know - practically a sin for the plant lover in Philly), but I went to check out the orchid display and it’s quite magnificent. I received some bad news last week so being surrounded by beautiful flowers and aromas for a brief time was quite nice. However, I don’t think that my withdrawal for nature macros has been queched.
Anyway, this is not the orchid from which vanilla is derived, but just one of many orchids that I photographed. I will post more soon.
While I was there, I also had some thoughts for more macro tips and tricks, of which I have not written much lately. So perhaps I will do that sometime soon.
