Flowers and more

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Wild Orchids

We moved into our cabin in the woods in fall, and one of the nicest surprises waited

until spring to show itself. In the woods around our cabin are wild orchids.

These are Calypso Orchids, also called Fairy Slippers.

They are the first flowers to bloom in spring, showing up just a couple weeks

after the snow finally melts away. They are so colorful and delicate, and only

grow a few inches above the moss on the forest floor.

We have one very special patch that we follow closely every year.

They are quite unusual, having three blossoms on each stalk, rather

than the standard single blossom. Early in the season, these flowers

have "horns", which open up to become smaller blossoms after about a week.

We feel blessed to have these wonderful Fairy Slippers growing in such abundance

in the woods around our home, so imagine our delight when we discovered

a second wild orchid that starts to blossom when the Calypso Orchids begin to fade.

This is a Spotted Lady Slipper. They grow about a foot high and have a blossom about the size of a golf ball. They are not as abundant as the Fairy Slippers and seem to keep to themselves in several separate patches. The prize patch that we've discovered in the woods behind our house is over 30 feet across and has hundreds of plants.

The small valley that we live in seems to be about the only place in the Fairbanks area

where these two orchids grow wild. We cherish them all the more because of this.

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