Annual Pink Ladyslipper Walk - Part 2

The dogs and I were walking in the Brasher State Forest, taking our annual Pink Ladyslipper walk (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). We passed out of the White Pines and into a mostly Red Pine forest, as you can tell by the cones and seedling:

The little dogs were particularly excited as they ran through the forest:

And sometimes they calmed down:

There were so many Pink Ladyslippers in bloom that I took an abundance of pictures. Maybe it's just me, but I find these wild orchids to be thrilling. Imagine living in a northern climate with long, harsh winters - but once each year finding the pine forests filled with wild orchids:

Some were darker pink than others. Some were taller or shorter:

And the dogs had lots of fun while I was busy taking Ladyslipper photos and swatting mosquitoes:

Our native orchid:

Two adjacent Ladyslippers. Notice the crooked stalk on the one on the right:

But this was only to be a quick walk, so we turned back toward our car:

The forest floor was open and easy to walk:

A side view:

My favorite photo of the day was this one, with Daphne and a Pink Ladyslipper:

We were almost back to the road, and the dogs were slowing down:

But I kept stopping to take "just one more" photo:

Yes, I took a lot of Ladyslipper photos, but I weeded out two thirds of them:

An especially vivid pink color for our last photo. I hope to take this walk every year. The perfect date seems always to be on my birthday, which makes it easy to remember: