Wonderful Wildflowers!

Another hobby of mine is seeking out wildflowers whether they be in the woods, along roadsides or on mountain tops. A long time ago I had purchased A Field Guide to Wildflowers by Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny in a used book store in Lake Placid and immediately began to note my findings.

In the margins of the book I'd write the date and location of where I saw the flower and then I'd color in the drawings using colored pencils.

I have a large patch of May-apples in the back yard and a few single plants in the front. I transplanted these from the woods behind our house probably 35 years ago before construction started on a huge office complex. The large lemon-like berry is edible. I once made May-apple jelly.

My all-time favorite wildflower is Pink Lady's-slipper or Moccasin-flower as it is sometimes called. Last year my daughter took me to a large patch of Lady's-slippers that were growing near a hiking trail in Wilmington, NY.

I'd never seen so many in one place!
 

We saw Wood Anemone on a hiking trail in May. 

Our backyard in the Adirondacks is filled with Bluets during May and June.

 

Gorgeous Trilliums abound in the woods near our cabin. . .

. . . as do Yellow Violets. . .

. . . and Buttercups.

Down near the river were dainty Maiden Pinks. . . 

 . . . and Celandines.

Viper's Bugloss was In the middle of a mountain biking track where my grandkids often go to ride. Such an ugly name for a rather pretty plant with blue flowers and red stamens.

One flower blooms at a time on these short branches.   

Last month my son-in-law was leading a hike for some of our friends and we saw Indian-pipes growing in a moist area on one of the trails.

My grand-dog, Masala, posed (on her own) in a field among Black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's Lace at Whiteface Mountain. Isn't she beautiful?