ladyslipper, i bid thee farewell

The ladyslipper is not destined for much longer. We are going out of town for one week and I expect it to be done by the time we return. So, here are two final photos. 

Grand Finale: Ladyslipper 16

Stem height: 8"
Bloom width: 4"
Bloom height: 3"
Gestation: 5+ weeks
Anticipated lifespan of full bloom: +/- 1 week.

ladyslipper 15

3/4 open.

ladyslipper 14

overnight change.

lucky ladyslipper 13

more opening.

ladyslipper 12

starting to open...

ladyslipper 11

This bloom has grown for over a month.

ladyslipper 10

BIRTH OF THE LADY SLIPPER. (This is taking forever!)

ladyslipper 9

Huge: the bud is almost 2 inches long and the stem is about 5 inches tall.

clover flower quickie

The dandelions seem to be mostly gone in CA right now. But I keep seeing dirty little scroungy clover flowers. Honestly, they are rather tiny and ugly. The ugliest flower ever, probably.

However, I did a quickie with them tonight. I'm glad I finally did one. The future ones will inevitably be better.

bush sniffing quickie

I love lilacs. I love them so much that for the ten days or so that they are blooming in Minnesota I stop at almost every lilac bush and sniff it.

Here's a quickie tag made with lilacs.