Lady's Slipper

The lady's slipper is the Minnesota state flower and one of my wife Kathleen's favorites. They grow in the drainage ditches along many of the dirt roads on Otter Tail Peninsula, and typically bloom around the 4th of July.

Above are several pictures I took today of the lady's slipper near our cabin. Below, is some information about the lady's slipper from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources web site.

Showy Lady's Slipper
Cypripedium reginae

The showy lady's slipper is Minnesota's state flower. Since 1925, the state has regulated the collection and commercial sale of this species. The showy lady's-slipper is one of 43 orchid species that grow in Minnesota. Many people consider it the most beautiful flower in the state.

Identification

General description: A brightly-colored orchid that has one or sometimes two blossoms on a single stem. White petals sit on top of a white pouch (slipper) streaked with pink. Hairy oval leaves clasp the stem.

Length: one to two feet tall.

Color: Pink, red, white, and green.

Reproduction

The lady's slipper flowers from early June to mid-July. It flowers best in bright sunlight, although it will grow in semi-shaded areas. In its first year, this orchid grows only as tall as a pencil point. Each year, the lady's slipper may produce a half-million seeds, which are as fine as flour dust. This flower has a long life span; some may be 100 years old.

Habitat and range

The lady's slipper grows in spruce and tamarack bogs, swamps, wet meadows, wet prairies, and cool, damp woods. It may be found anywhere in Minnesota where these habitats exist.

Population and management

The lady's slipper is uncommon in Minnesota. Population can be hurt by wetland drainage, road construction, tree cuttings, and illegal picking and uprooting. In addition, herbicides used on roadside areas can kill these plants. The best management is to protect the lady's-slipper's native habitat.

Fun facts

Some people can get a rash from touching the leaves of this pretty orchid.

July 2, 2009 -- Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday. I won't reveal how old she is other than to say she remembers World War II. Happy birthday Mom.

The temperature at noon today at Leech Lake was a very pleasant 67 degrees. The sky was mostly cloudy, with a few patches of blue showing, and the wind was out of the north at 8-12 mph, with gusts up near 20 mph. The high today is expected to be 74 degrees.

My neighbor Don Poage called me this morning asking if he could borrow my Stihl chain saw to cut down an old, dead tree. I said sure, and walked over to Don's cabin with the saw in hand. The tree, which was no more than a foot in diameter and 50 feet tall, came down easily.

Don and his step-son Marty are now cutting the tree into small pieces, which they plan to give to me to burn in the fire pit.

My other neighbors, the Newmans, invited me over to their cabin this evening for a rib and chicken BBQ. I look forward to the good food and good conversation.

After the BBQ dinner, John and I went fishing. The wind had died down and the lake was nearly still. The water temperature was 70.3 degrees and the air temperature was 60 degrees. The moon is 81% waxing.

We started trolling in front of Malay's house in 10 feet of water. Both of us were using #9 Minnow Raps. We made several passes through The Alley, and while John got skunked, I caught 3 rock bass, one good sized northern pike and small walleye approximately 13" long.

Since the Newmans are leaving sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, John wanted to go ashore at 10:30 p.m. to help his family pack up. And since most of the bites we were getting were from mosquitoes, I was fine with that suggestion.

Although the walleye fishing has definitely slowed on Sucker Bay, it was still nice to get out this evening on Leech Lake.