the bogs yesterday were amazing... we started at the jackson bog. i had never been to this bog (never been to either bog, in fact!
, even though it is owned by my old school district! it's literally located about 150 yards from where i went to high school.
the bog / park grounds are very well maintained. there's a full boardwalk running the whole way through the wet lands, bathrooms, picnic area's, ect... the bog is very nice. upon entering the bog, the first viewing platform you come to overlooks a small area of s. purpurea growing. there were roughly 2 dozen plants in flower right there before my eyes. amazing! further along the trail, you're greeted with more purpurea's here and there...
ozzy, his wife, and i came to a small clearing with mostly small, low growing plants, shallow running, rocky water, when he said "there's probabaly some sundews here..." (that's a prarphrase...). sure enough, although very hard to see from the trail, you could see them! if you didn't know what to look for, you would miss them (as i'm sure most of the non cp'ers do!
... actually, i wish that who ever maintains the grounds there, would somehow mark where they grow, so more people could enjoy these plants (some one would poach them, for sure, though...).
brown's bog, in shreve, on the other hand, is a must see for any cp'er. it'll leave you speachless, expecially if you have never witnessed native cp's in their natural habitat (like me). in a word, incredible. the boardwalk at this bog is way more cp'er friendly. there is so many s. purpureas and dews growing there, if you're not careful, you could literally trample them!
there is a small trail from the road, leading through the woods, to the bog. when i first entered the bog, all i could say was "wow!". we're talking, easily over a hundred s. purpurea ssp. purpureas and, literally, thousands of sundews, growing everywhere. there's mounds of live lfs, 12+ inches high, with pitchers just growing out of them. sundews everywhere! simply mindblowing. it's almost like a dream... i can't really describe it any better. i know that nick has a bunch of picts. all i can say is check them out. well, that's not totally true. check out the picts, then, if at all possible, go to this bog. picts are one thing. seeing them in person is in a totally different league. it'll leave you in awe...
nick and ozzy (and their wives!
are truely great people. my live has been forever enriched from this trip. the web is such an impersonal place (although, this web site is as close as you can get to being human on the internet, and for that i must once again thank the creators, jeff and phil, for this thing we call "pet fly trap".). untill yesterday, i had yet to meet someone in person that really loved carnivorous plants. you guys hooked me up, and i am forever indebted to you. if you ever need anything, give me a yell. thank you. you're generosity is
without bounds.
this was a great trip, and i have learned a lot. it wasn't without it's growing pains, but now we know (cell phone numbers!
. the next trip should go a lot smoother.
peace,
brian
aka: technoracer