The Strays Find Shelter

 
Plans, as we all know, often go awry. Loretta and I were zipping along, very happy to be making great time, when I-65 south of Louisville, KY became more or less a parking lot for no apparent reason. It took us about 3 hours to make 15 miles. There was an exit early on in the traffic jam, but who would think of getting off the interstate for a slowdown, that quickly? We didn't. At about 4 pm we managed to get off and get gas and eat something. Then we re-evaluated our options.

The good news is that it was sunny- no snow or rain, the car didn't overheat or run out of gas, we saw no accidents as a result of the bumper to bumper traffic. We saw a few people doing exasperated maneuvers, but no real road rage. As far as we can tell, that huge backup was the result of forcing three lanes to one at a single location.



We decided to not attempt to drive all the rest of the way home today. I started calling people I know that were along our general route.

After we refueled the car and ourselves we stayed off I-65 until we saw it was clear. This route was literally a breath of fresh air.



And who took us in? I promise to reveal all tomorrow. The answer is quite wonderful!

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White Pelicans

 
Our day has been non-stop since 8:30 this morning, and tomorrow we drive home. So, I'm just going to show you a couple of pictures of the white pelicans and go to sleep. These are one of my favorite birds. They are huge, with a 9-foot wingspan. They summer in North Dakota, but apparently winter in Alabama.

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Orchids Again

 
Just to give you an idea of the beautiful area we were in while we did all this botanizing, here is a long shot of Cane Creek Canyon. (I stole this shot from Loretta, but I don't think she'll mind.)


Here are the other two orchids we've seen this week.

I do think it's interesting that the four we've seen are all in separate genera. Two were in bloom and the other two were not. The first one I'm going to show you today only has the leaves, but they are so distinctive that I described them to our botanist guide yesterday (we saw these on Monday), and he immediately identified it. Since it doesn't grow in Michigan, I don't feel stupid that I didn't know it. That said, plants don't really pay attention to borders on maps, so it's possible there might be some at the southern edge of the state, but I've never seen it before.

It's Crane-fly Orchid, Tipularia Discolor. It's the only species of that genus in North America, and is considered rare. I'll probably be able to remember it because Tipula is a genus of crane-fly (I guess the blossoms look something like a crane-fly), and discolor- well, stay tuned for the second picture. The leaves are very distinctive. There is one single leaf that lies close to the ground, but in close proximity to others. These are actually clones. The leaf has heavy veins and it looks as if it had been accordion folded.



Here's the kicker- when you turn the leaf over, it's bright purple on the underside. Some plants take on a purple cast if they are in strong sunlight, but supposedly this leaf is always purple underneath, so you can use that as one of the distinguishing features. Dis=opposing like DISsonant, DIStrust, etc, so discolor refers to the two-colored leaf.



Our other one was in bloom. This is not any more rare than a lot of wild orchids, but it was new to me. It's Spring Coralroot. I've seen a cousin, the Spotted Coralroot, but that one blooms later in the summer. Coralroots have a root system that stores nutrients gleaned from a saprophytic relationship with a fungus. The storage system is crystalline, and forms a network that resembles coral. This one is Corallorhiza wisteriana.



As you can sort of tell, these are nearly invisible against the leaf litter, unless you are looking carefully. But when you look closely, you'll find beautiful spotted flowers.

	See Orchid Overload
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Orchid Overload

 
Wow. I am trying to get pictures formatted and ready to post here, but my head is just swimming.

Today we went to Cane Creek Canyon Preserve, which is privately owned, near Tuscumbia, Alabama. We got a tour from the owner, arranged in advance. He quickly learned that I wanted to see not just things in bloom, but every plant in sight. I quickly learned that this is a very special place. They have a high number of threatened and endangered plants. The benefit of going somewhere where there is a person with general and local knowledge is that he knew exactly where to find each plant, and what it is called. He and I were ecstatic- Loretta, and a local woman who went with us got dragged along for the ride, but insisted they didn't mind.

Today, I saw three different orchids, and learned that I saw the leaves of another on Monday. Three of the four are completely new to me. Here's a good example of why one needs a guide to find many of these plants. Here's the Southern Twayblade, Neottia bifolia, or Listera bifolia (they've changed the genus name), or Listera australis.



Are you still hunting? Here's some help. Now you should be able to find the two paired leaves- twayblades



Ready for the flower? You may not be impressed, but I think it's spectacular. The whole plant is about 8 inches tall.

Here's the one I'd seen before. All we saw today were leaves and the beginning of the bud. But I really like this, because the more times you see a plant, particularly in a different place, you get used to slight variations. I previously saw this in flower in Ohio. Showy Orchis Galearis spectabilis

I might have found this on my own since they had a cage around it to keep the deer from eating it. When you see plants in prison, you go look at why. But, even so, I might not have recognized it, and even if I'd guessed Show Orchis, I woudn't have been sure I was right. Here's the flower- taken in Ohio in 1999.

Now I think I have to stop for today. It takes a lot of time to get the photos on my nature ID web site. Anyway, it's better for reading if there aren't too many at one time. And I'm sure you won't mind seeing more pretty plants instead of snow once I return home.

I am so "high" from all this wonderful botanizing, I don't know if people will be able to scrape me off the ceiling.

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Royalty

 
We did a whole lot of things today. I'm saving a bunch of the people stuff to do all at once, so I'll show you a couple of regal critters.

The University of Northern Alabama is in Florence, and their team symbol is the lion.



What, you want the real thing? Oh, OK.



This is Leo III and Una, brother and sister who live on campus. I could only get a good picture of both of them through the barred section, but trust me, their habitat is very nice. The weather was really warm and they were more interested in sleeping than giving us a good show. I was pretty impressed with Una's paw.



Later in the afternoon we went to find an eagle nest that Loretta knew was at a local park. We had no idea if it would be in use. It certainly was. Dad was on watch duty while Mom was off looking for dinner.



We only know this because there were a number of people there with cameras set up, waiting for the daily feeding schedule. They said the birds were quite regular. But Mom didn't show up before we had to leave. However, I did catch one of the little ones waiting for her.

	See Parent of the Amazing Baby
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