RHH's photos with the keyword: calypso bulbosa var occidentalis

We went on a hike with the Washington Native Orchid Society April 24th at Anderson Lake State Park on the Olympic Peninsula. We went to see these native orchids in bloom, but saw a number of other interesting flowers as well. This native orchid is known as the Western Fairy Slipper and is different from the Eastern Fairy Slipper in that the hairs on the lip are white, not yellow, the color is a darker pink, and the front lobe of the lip is heavily spotted in brown. Two photos of the eastern variety are shown below, along with another older photo of this variety. Though these are known as the western variety, their range often overlaps with the other variety and occasionally they hybridize. We found about two dozen of them growing in shaded but open, rather dry wooded locations around the lake. This was published in the April, 2011, issue of Orchids, the magazine of the American Orchid Society, in an article titled "Taking Aim."

It is our wedding anniversary today and this picture is dedicated to my wife of of thirty-five years. She is a wonderful lady, mother of eight children, including one handicapped son, now also a grandmother ten times over, my companion through many struggles and trials, and a constant source of encouragement. She's willingly moved away from her own family and moved to New Jersey, to Texas, to Washington and overseas to Northern Ireland. Always willing to help others, she always has time both for her own family and for others and now that our own family is grown she spends a great deal of time visiting and making meals for the elderly and the sick. She is just simply wonderful. She is also my hiking buddy, always ready for a new adventure. She loves backpacking and camping, photography and nature and even though we are both in our mid fifties, loves roughing it including sleeping on the ground in a tent and subsisting on freeze-dried food, trail mix and Gatorade. When hiking she's like the Energizer Bunny - she goes on and on and on, often out-hiking me. This picture of the Fairy Slipper, Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis, was taken on our recent hike along Chiwaukum Creek near Leavenworth, Washington, and is a small tribute to her many talents and abilities. I love you, dear. N.B. A description of our hike can be found at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/chiwaukum-c...