Category Archives: Native Orchids

Help Us Identify this Delicate Wild Orchid

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Filed under Cedar Bog Preserve, OH, Native Orchids, Native Plants and Flowers, Wildflowers

Orchid photographed by Jeff Zablow at Cedar Bog, OH

This trip was one that I went along with a group of Orchid experts, scouring several destinations in Ohio. This was the same Ohio that I’d never entered, though for 27 years I lived nearby, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What changed? Barbara Ann A”H (OBM”) invited me to join her, Angela and others, and I jumped at the chance. Did we see Orchids? Yes, Oh yes.

This delicate beauty was seen in Cedar Bog, Ohio. With the Loss of Barbara Ann, no quick ID is available to me. I must await your identification. What I do know is that Orchids are those words: delicate; spectacular; gorgeous; inspiring; other-world, etc.. That we still can locate them in these modern times, after more than 100 years of almost total development, is a Blessing.

Jeff

Blackwater Pinks

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Filed under Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MD, Native Orchids, Native Plants and Flowers, Wildflowers

Pink Lady's Slipper wildflower, photographed by Jeff Zablow at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MD

I was seeking butterflies, she was more interested in revisiting a spot that annually yielded Pink Lady Slipper Orchids. It was a mostly cloudy morning there, at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, near Madison, Maryland.

Yes, I did once visit the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and I visited the Vatican and its breathtaking Sistine Chapel.

Standing there, gaping at these native (American) orchids, evokes the same kind of Awe,

Three bunched Pink Lady Slipper Orchids, elegance, delicate beauty and improbable pluck, in the shady recesses of a wild, Wildlife Refuge. Speaking in whispers, for G-d is close by.

Jeff

Pink Butterfly Orchid In The Galilee

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Filed under Mt. Meron, Israel, Native Orchids

Pink Butterfly Orchid (2 stalks), photographed by Jeff Zablow at Mt. Meron, Upper Galilee, Israel

Roger, Angela, Barbara Ann, Debra and Jim Fowler have been sharing scrumptious orchid photos on Facebook, this many weeks. I admit to not looking for orchids, ever . . . until I met Barbara Ann and Angela. I should not write ever, for some years ago I did marvel at Pink Lady Slipper Orchids at Bear Run in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. I stood in front of those breathtaking blooms, and the connection between those orchids and the Almighty was Oh! so clear.

So many of you who visit here are firm believers, and know of Capernum, The Sea of Galilee from Sunday school and such. I though it poignant that these Pink Butterfly Orchids were found on Mt. Meron in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. I’ve no doubt that the Christians and Jews who we revere stopped on their journeys to reflect on these incredibly delicate orchids. No doubt at all.

The Galilee region and the Golan are verdant wildernesses, with small towns (moshavs) sprinkled here and there. I tease with this, for I so want to one day be told that one of you traveled to the HolyLand, inpart due to something I shared . . . .

Jeff

Orchids & Coppers

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Filed under Allenberg Bog, NY, Native Orchids

Orchid, photographed by Jeff Zablow at Allenberg Bog in New York

It happens. Barbara Ann and I mucked through nearly 3/4 of a miles of over grown trail, to once again explore the wonders of Allenberg Bog in western New York State. Ultra-humid, mosquito rich trail, over fallen trees, large puddles and much mud. It happens meaning? Meaning that the trail didn’t show any evidence of having been used for a very long time, and much of it simply could not be deciphered. This was just last month, June 2018.

Had flown in to Pittsburgh with 2 objectives, see my family, and especially see my grandson, and to also revisit Allenberg Bog. This is an ancient sphagnum moss bog, rich with pitcher plants, sun dew and cranberries. Those cranberries host Big Copper Butterflies. Last years photos of those Bog Coppers were OK, but the butterflies were all of a single flight, all slightly worn. On this 2nd go-around, I was hoping to see a fresh batch of Bog Coppers. Then, I’d triumphantly share with you my newest, OMG! images . . . . Nope, didn’t happen. Barbara Ann tried so hard to get us there, but it was a  labyrinth, and we ended the morning exhausted and a tiny bit discouraged.

Perk up though, for here I share a tiny orchid that Allenberg Bog dished up for us last year. So delicate, so fascinating and so beautiful.  Beauty and grace, resplendent amidst all of the hazards that this acid bog surely delivers, day and night. Amazing, No?

Yes, She told me its name, and yes I can’t recall it. Barbara? Angela? Debra? Jim Fowler?

Jeff

Galilean Willdflower Beckons

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Filed under Flowers Loved by Butterflies, Kadesh Trail, Israel, Native Orchids, Native Plants and Flowers, Wildflowers

Wildflower photographed by Jeff Zablow at Kedesh Trail, Upper Galilee, Israel

A consistent winner, this Kedesh Trail, just 10 minutes south of Kiryat Shimona, in Israel’s Upper Galilee. Rare butterflies, fresh and earnest, have been my reward for driving to this exceptional trail, with its meadows, rocky outcrops, and rising cliffs and both sides. The HolyLand, April 2017.

With a break in the airborne action, my eyes revert to searching for wildflowers. These dainties lined a good part of Kedesh. I had a mental meeting with me, myself and I, and it was decided. I would look for a richly colored, well lit, healthy bloom, and attempt (hand held, no tripod) to get a good one.

Wow! Scarlet Pimpernel aka Anagallis arvensis.

What say you?

Jeff