Pink Lady Slippers are blooming in the woodlands all around us. Also knows as Moccasin Flowers, their scientific name is Cypripedium acaule. They will be around for a few weeks before they begin to die off. Where you find one this year, you may find several next year and more the year after. They enjoy acidic, well drained soils that often can be found in mixed pine and hardwood forests. You might even see the back end of a bumble bee sticking out of them. DO NOT pick these beautiful little orchids. They have a less than 5 percent chance of being successfully transplanted and require a particular fungus in the soil to grow. They -- and all lady slippers -- are listed as a special concern under the Native Plant Protection Act and it is illegal to dig or pick them on federal lands. So, that means the U.S. Army Corps lands here in The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor - Hodges Village, Westville Lake, Buffumville Lake, East Brimfield Lake, Mansfield Hollow and West Thompson Lake. Enjoy them for the next few weeks and know that next year you will likely see more in your favorite viewing spots.
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It's adorable duck season in The Last Green Valley! Bob Lee captured this series of photos of a Mallard Duck hen and her chicks. These chicks were born with yellow downy feathers but are already starting to get the same feathering as their mom. The chicks will stay with their mother for at least two months. It takes about two years for them to get their adult plumage. Interestingly Mallards were considered rare in the region back in the mid-1800s but the intentional release of mallards in southern New England has made them our most abundant nesting waterfowl now.
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