Lady Slippers, cypripedium reginae, are rare these days. These were seen in the woods at Fallingwater in the Laurel Highlands while on a Landscape Hike with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy on Members’s Day. I was invited to be a guest of Erika’s Uncle Larry, who is an enthusiastic environmentalist, and shared a wonderful day at the Barn at Fallingwater with his family.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypripedium_reginae)
https://waterlandlife.org/fallingwater/
from the archives
Plitvička Lakes National Park Croatia
Click above link for a virtual tour.
The waterfalls and pools are everywhere you look. We took the boardwalk you see from the aerial view photo, a bus on winding roads with no guard rail through the forests and a boat ride on a glacial lake. Good photos for water and earth, but no fire.
Target – making it easy to be green
Good point, Mary.
Now I get it!
You see motivational posters with a single word illustrating a character trait underneath a corresponding photo. The power of nature to grow in an inhospitable environment is always amazing to me.
Pittsburgh Greenway Parking LotMark and Erika called Saturday night and suggested we meet up at The Wilds. Cumberland Ohio. I took the New Concord Exit on I-70.
I said, sure I’ll meet you there! I was excited cause it was unexpected. And who knew this place was so interesting?
It was about 130 miles for me to drive there and they drove about 90. We took a 2 1/2 hour bus ride tour throughout the 10,000 acres and saw lots of wonderful animals. Most are endangered in the wild and this conservation facility(non-profit) gives them the protected place to reproduce. It was a beautiful day.
Bactrian Camels- Mother and Child (Yes, this was photographed in Ohio)
Przewalksi Wild Horse- a female
Sichuan Takin
Zebras- Buck and bray a bit while the one looks on
Bison running away from our bus
25 cents in a machine and you can get food for the catfish. They act like they have never eaten before or will they ever eat again. I know these were Jack’s favorite.
The catfish are not particularly attractive to me.
Rhinoceros family time. Our guide says there skin is really soft. A group of rhino is called a CRASH.
All photos taken with a Canon 70-200 mm L series lens on a Canon 5D
Our knowledgeable guide Rob.
And an ordinary rabbit. Not endangered.
And if you want to travel with us on the bus, Anna captured a two minute segment of the tour! Thanks Anna for the videoing,
When I was a kid we piled in the car in NJ and drove to Illinois every summer. This is the route we took.
I drove it home to Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago on my way back from Columbus.
Route 40 The National Road. I pulled over to catch the autumn hues in the background hills along the way.
There were interesting and quirky scenes but this is the one that stayed with me for the time since I drove along this highway instead of the interstate.
Sometimes you just have to pull over on the side of the road and hurry up and get the camera out. Hurry. cause the daylight is scant. You see something – want to make a note of it. Driving home from Indiana PA last Saturday night, I saw this scene on the horizon at dusk. Limits of photography, the photograph can’t capture the expansive and open feel of the country, the space. This plant touts the third tallest chimney in the world. I went and read about it. I discovered it isn’t a nuclear plant. Those big coolers made it look nuclear to me. Flip a switch, turn on a burner, twist a faucet. We use energy daily. Don’t think much about the source, how it gets to us. You can read about it on Wikipedia. Here’s my visual.
