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Saturday 10 August 2013

Picture This #212 ~ Wild Things

I am wild about this theme and had a very difficult time picking only 3 photographs.


About 50 miles/90 kms north of Sault Sainte Marie in Canada is a remote area where we have spent many happy summer days.

Pitcher plant flower
In boggy areas, one can find the carnivorous pitcher plant which has leaves in the shape of pitchers. Insects and even tiny frogs find their way in and are slowly digested. I don't have a picture of the pitchers, but the flower is unique.


Lady Slipper Orchid
The lady slipper orchid grows in drier areas.


BeaverPond
This is a pond created by beavers damming up a small stream. On either side the ferns grow waist high in the underbrush. There are deer, bears and wolves. I got lost in this area but was saved by my companion, a scruffy German shepherd named Buck.




15 comments:

  1. The carnivorous plant is amazing. We have Venus Fly Traps here and someone has stolen them from the wild recently (it is a crime). I don't know if they grow as big as the pitcher plant...hard to imagine it eating frogs, even if they are little ones!
    The ladyslipper is beautiful and so is the pond (thank goodness for Buck)!

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    1. Thank you, Danette. I believe they are protected here as well, although they are common in old bogs and fens.

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  2. Exquisite shots of the carnivorous plant. Love the serene feel to the last one.

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    1. Thanks, Anders, one of my favorite places.

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  3. Hi Benni !! Three wonderful shots for Danette's theme!! I've seen Pitcher plants many times, but never seen them in flower before. They remind me somewhat of certain varieties of Sempervivum. I wonder if they are distantly related. Beautiful shot of the Lady Slipper orchid. Lovely scene in that last shot. Hope you didn't get your feet wet!! Was Buck a local dog? Or belonged to another visitor to the area?

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    1. Thank you, Mitch. Yes, I always got my feet wet when wandering around. Buck was an abandoned dog, discovered and patched up by the lodge's handyman. He was very friendly to me but always growled at Tom. I will have to look up Sempervivum.

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  4. Three Beautiful takes on the theme nice work Benni;)

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    1. Thanks, Baz, not too far from Paradise Michigan, just across Superior - sorta.

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  5. Benni, I love your three shots. Very exquite flower in the first shot... delicate, yet wild, orchid in the second... nice colour! What a tranquility one would be surrounded in that environment...

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    1. Belita, thank you. Yes, I would lose myself for hours (only once literally) in this place.

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  6. HI Benni, your first capture as always when talking about carnivorous plants, makes me think "feeeeed me, Seymour.........." LOl Great shot, though, mind your fingers, I believe the insects drown and then enzymes within the plant makes it disintegrate into something it can absorb ........... wildly interesting and I think worth a horror movie as much as Arachnophobia and Anaconda ...both had my hair standing up on end.

    I have never seen a Lady Slipper Orchid, exquisite ............ lovely

    Wild and remote, thank God for the dog named Buck. Bears and Wolves and you think I live in a wild place?

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    1. LOL, Marianne, yes, it is a bit wild, but one rarely sees the wild animals. Never have seen a wolf, only once a bear and he was running away. Still, point well taken. You're right about the animals drowning and then turned into soup. Thanks, I am glad you enjoyed my pictures.

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  7. wow benni these are so great and I learned a few more great nature things
    it looks like a wonderful place to wander and shot great pics

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  8. Three very interesting photos. Love the first for the green colour contrasts and pitcher plants are always interesting - you never know what they contain. the third is an interesting photo, built by beaver with beaver in mind.

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  9. I love all three photos, Benni! I've seen these plants in photos but have never come across them in the wild. Lucky you!!! Really wonderful finds!

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