Lady's Slippers and the Nature Conservancy

When I was a child, one of my many quirks was that I liked to earn money doing chores and then send it (in $5 increments if I recall) to causes that I believed in. The World Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy were big favorites. (I also formed an organization called the ALS, the Animal Lover's Society, which had a membership of one--myself. I guess I wanted my charitable work to have an umbrella organization. Plus I could create an ALS logo, which was in marker with the lower curve of the "S" going back to underline the A and the L. Fancy!)

So this is to say that I have been interested in The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for a long time. Their work of acquiring and protecting land and habitats has always made complete sense to me. And in the last few years, I have started sending them money once again. 

I've also come to realize that I live very close to a TNC Natural Area. In fact it's one of my favorite places ever (I am loath to reveal it here, but you could probably figure out). We went there for a hike on Memorial Day recently, and enjoyed the quiet and the waters and the creatures of spring time.

Shelf fungi aka polypore

We brought a picnic of dilly beans, chocolate, crackers, and lots of sliced Vermont cheddar cheese.

Wildlife!

The woods are so lovely.

There was also a new TNC sign at the entrance to this natural area, and I saw that there is another area about an hour's drive away. It's called Eshqua Bog. When I looked it up later, I learned that it is famous for Showy Lady's Slippers that bloom around June 20. So on June 19th (Happy Juneteenth!) we packed up another load of snacks and headed off to the see the Bog!

You see the flowers by walking a boardwalk that travels above the squishy fen (this sign explains that Eshqua bog is actually mostly a fen, meaning it is fed by groundwater and not precipitation, like a bog).

There is a small parking area but also plenty of parking on the dirt road (Garvin Hill Road).

Here are the Showy Lady's Slippers! They are so elegant. I love that powdery stripey pink, and the white petals make it look like they're about to fly away.

I also saw my very first Sundew--a carnivorous plant I'd always noticed in plant books but had never seen in person. The Sundew was MUCH smaller than I had imagined, so easy to overlook. (I found it because it was marked with a sign.) Isn't it cute!?

I'm inspired now to visit other TNC Natural Areas in Vermont. Many of the others are also wetlands. Here's a slightly cropped map showing locations with orange dots, such as Equinox Highlands, North Pawlet Hills, Otter Creek Swamps, Chickering Bog, LaPlatte River Marsh, Barr Hill, and Butternut Hill on the Champlain islands.

How about you--do you like The Nature Conservancy? Have you been to any of their Natural Areas or similar places?