Lady's Slipper

It's Father's Day! Today my Dad shared a thirty year old secret with me. It may not be much of a secret, but it was certainly something I knew nothing about. What is it you ask? It's the location of a beautiful patch of Showy Lady's Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium reginae). I've never seen these flowers in the wild, or in real life for that matter. Okay, while I'm at it, I've never even seen orchids of any kind growing in the wild. I guess I don't get out much.
My Dad used to do a lot of coon hunting... a LOT. He knows this area like the back of his hand. It was about thirty years ago while hunting that he spotted them, and earlier this spring, he told me he'd take me out for a photo oppotunity. A great opportunity it was. There were dozens of them. The mosquitoes kept our stay to a brief half hour, but I plan on returning next year.