Phragmipedium besseae in bloom.

A few weeks back I took delivery of a Phragmipedium besseae. It was selected for me by Dean at Paphiness Orchids from the stock at Orchid Zone. It is my first Phragmipedium, and is also the very first non-Cypripedium slipper orchid I've ever seen in bloom. The plant arrived with one bloom in moderate bud, and another in a very early bud. A third bloom has already come and gone. The current bloom is the second bud.

Phrag. besseae is originally from Ecuador and Peru. It is normally a bright red color with yellow highlights. It has transparent windows in the sides of the pouch, which presumably aid in keeping insects in the pouch long enough to pollinate the flower.

You can read more about it at:
http://www.goreorchidconservatory.com/SpecPgs/Phrag-besseae.html
http://www.slipperorchids.info/phragdatasheets/besseae/index.html

More photos:
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=8682214
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=8682198

The current plant situation...

As some people may know, I've become deeply interested in orchids ever since we stumbed on that small patch of Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens (Yellow Ladyslipper) in Sipsey Wilderness. It started with just the Cypripedium, but I'm branching my interests out, and that includes getting around to actually growing orchids.

My current Cypripedium list is in flux, but I just ordered several Cypripedium guttatum seedlings from Spangle Creek Labs. Those little plants, when they arrive this spring, will take part in an experiment that may very well result in their doom. I'm interested in seeing how northern climate Cypripedium species like guttatum, yatabeanum, passerineum, and arientinum fare in windowsill culture with refrigerator vernalization in winter. Since passerineum and arientinum are too expensive and aren't available as seedlings, and yatabeanum isn't terribly easy to get, these poor little guttatum ended up being subjects in my experiment. When they arrive, they'll be photographed, and potted for windowsill culture, and I'll photodocument their little lives from that point on, using this blog.

I've just taken delivery of a single Showy Orchis and a single Catesby's Trillium, which are de-vernalizing in the house right now. They are from a nursery in N. Carolina, so they are expecting a shorter winter than they would get here in New York. I'll also be chronicling their development, since I'll probably be self-pollinating the Showy Orchis for seed.

In the realm of tropical orchids, I currently have 2 Phals, a massive Phal. Malibu Real, and a smaller unknown hybrid. I also have a Paph delenatii and a Paph armenicum, as well as a Phrag. besseae that is currently in bloom. Photos to follow. I'm lusting for a Mexipedium right now.

So... That's where we stand on the plants. Plants were becoming a big interest of mine last time I was blogging, but now I have more to blog about with my interests growing.

Old Posts

For now, old posts from last year can be found at:
http://junkmail.szulecki.com/

I'm back...

I'm moving back to using this blog again. The blog software package for my web host is tedious at best, and I'd like to get back to using the blog once and a while. Pending for the next few weeks is a review of the DeLorme PN-40 GPSr, some discussion of my orchid growing activities, etc...

Little River Canyon - Fall Foliage

Well, I cancelled my scheduled dayhike in Sipsey for today due to a number of factors, but I did managed to head out for a sunrise at Little River Canyon. Sunrise was a letdown, so I wasn't upset that I was running about 30 minutes late and missed the actual sunrise at the canyon. Too much yellow and orange in the sky, no reds or purples during the full twilight and sunrise phases due to the clear but polluted air. There was a great deal of mist in the areas along I-59, but it didn't seem to develop in the canyon. The purpose of the trip was to spend some time using the Graflex Pacemaker Speed, but I think I've finally realized that I need to stop trying to feed it color film and treating it like a view or field camera, and instead stick to B&W and let it be used for purposes closer to its press heritage. This comes as the result of wasting about $6 worth of film... 2 sheets were hosed due to an exposure calculation error, I wasn't paying close enough attention and didn't properly read my dSLR for metering, and WAY overexposed them. At least one more sheet bought it due to a mistake with the viewing shutter mechanism, I accidentally left the shutter open when I removed the darkslide. We'll see what comes out, but I think I may just stick to sunny f/16 with the camera from now on.

Here is what the canyon looked like about 30 minutes AFTER sunrise:http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597062

But, with that failure under my belt, I headed from the rim of the canyon over to the parking area next to Little River Falls. As I said, there was a great deal of moisture in the air despite the lack of rain, and as such highly angled light rays were visible in a number of locations. http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597063

I made and effort to get down to the rocks below Little River Falls, but failed for the 3rd time, so I contented myself with some reflection shots of the pool below the falls. The falls themselves were really too bright, and there were people around.
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597068
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597067
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597064

The foliage this year is proceeding slugglishly and isn't all that fantastic. Despite Scipio's constant protestations, I managed to get a few decent leaf shots.
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597075
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597071
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597072
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597069
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597073

I wish I had thought to schedule some fall foliage time in GSMNP. I'd really love to see this falls in the fall (NOT FROM TODAY).
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6046552

While I was taking leaf photos a mosquito landed near something I was photographing. A failed exposure rendered a very evil subject.
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6597084

It wasn't an unproductive trip despite several failures.

Mt. Cheaha - Alabama's Highest Point

Today me and Scipio finally made it to the actual state park portion of Cheaha State Park, which is located on and around Mt. Cheaha, Alabama's Highest Point, which is itself located within Talladega National Forest.

Here is a picture of Mt. Cheaha from a few miles away, from AFTER we were up there. It turned out that the road to High Falls (small waterfall nearby) is STILL closed, and I wasn't up to the 45-minute detour that would have been required to check the water levels after today's rain...

http://www.szulecki.com/images/IMG_6290

Mt. Cheaha is 2,407ft ASL, but feels about twice that due to the very low elevation of the surrounding terrain facing west, which is all you can see from the boardwalked Bald Rock overlook. Cheaha is in a chain that makes up the very last of the Appalachians, and that chain is also the only portion of the Blue Ridge that extends into Alabama. The rest of Alabama's high elevations are related to the Cumberland Plateau.

Here is an image showing that there is a boardwalk...
http://www.szulecki.com/images/IMG_6287

To illustrate how high the mountain is in comparison to the surrounding terrain, that tiny cut in the woods is the road to the mountain.
http://www.szulecki.com/images/IMG_6286

There are Bonsai like trees growing all over the top of the mountain, which gets battered pretty hard by the wind and weather, especially in the winter. This little tree is seen in some popular local photographer's sunset shots. I think that was prior to the developments in the background...
http://www.szulecki.com/images/IMG_6289

I tried to make a panoramic image, but the program (Autostitch - freeware) smeared it a bit. Here is the panoramic and the originals...
http://www.szulecki.com/images/IMG_6281
http://www.szulecki.com/images/IMG_6282
http://www.szulecki.com/images/IMG_6284
http://www.szulecki.com/images/pano

I'm pretty sure that cleared mountain to the left in the last image is (C?)Old Water Mountain/Cold Water Peak, just outside of Anniston, AL. It is really the only high point in that direction for quite a ways. It is around 1700ft ASL.

Alabama's portion of the Blue Ridge mountains runs from the Georgia border near Tecumseh, AL to around Hollins, AL. Alabama has the last 2000ft+ peak and that last 1000ft+ peak in the whole Appalachians, which end right southerly around Hollins with the end of the Blue Ridge. There are a few named peaks above 2000ft in Alabama, with some clustered around Cheaha 10-15 miles south of Anniston, and some clustered north east of Anniston around Dugger Mountain, Alabama's second highest peak.

It was interesting, if photographically disappointing due to the time of day and weather. It was a pretty nice day, just to sunny for my tastes. This would be a GREAT spot to watch incoming thunderstorms, if you are willing to risk the shock...

Sipsey Wilderness and Winston County 10/6/07

I finally managed to get out to Sipsey for the first time in two years today. The weather was beautiful for being at the beach, but terrible for waterfall photography. The drive is around 1.5-2 hours from my apartment here in Birmingham to the Sipsey Wilderness. I started by checking how crowded the "trailhead" for Caney Creek Falls was, which was where I really wanted to go, but seeing how much foliage was covering the old logging road that forms about 1/2 mile of the 3/4 mile hile, I decided the trail to the falls (the last 1/4 mile) was probably to overgrown to take this little guy through before fall...

I decided to check out Kinlock Falls, which I have listed and pictured on my website, but have never personally visited. Kinlock Falls, due to its close proximity to the road (less than 500ft, but steep), gentle slope, and deep pool is a popular swimming spot. There were many signs of human activity here, beer cans, shoes, cloths, panties, yet thankfully, no signs of human reproduction... The site was once home to a mill, hence the square hole in the rock in this picture.

After following the creek from the bridge to the top of the falls (I missed the easy way down), I was presented with the challenge of finding a route around the top of the falls. Luckily, this area is well visited and I quickly found a well worn path.

I wish the lighting had been better, and I had remembered my tripod, which was resting uselessly in my trunk, about 500ft away, but about 100ft above me... This waterfall type is one of the best for fall waterfall photography, because the relatively shallow slope allows for leaves to accumulate in the non-flowing portions of the slope. It looks really good if the leaf color and lighting are just right.

I only managed one long-exposure shot of the waterfall, accomplished by placing it on my backpack, and running the self-timer. I'm disappointed.

There was still a little bit of interesting plant life in bloom or fruiting in the area. Most of the creeks and streams in Sipsey have massive wildflower blooms along their floodplains every spring. If you can call a canyon a floodplain...

On my way home, I couldn't resist getting a picture of this local landmark. If you've never heard of the Free State of Winston/Republic of Winston, or think that all the South supported the Confederacy, you might want to read a little about it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Winston

This may be the last time I use blogger for one of my adventure posts. I'll probably just go back to putting them on my site. I don't like the way blogger handles pictures.