Lady Slipper Orchid: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters trail, Wells, Maine, May 2025 — It is Lady Slipper time again. I took advantage of the sunny day yesterday to trike out to the Rachel Carson NWR headquarters trail to see if they are in bloom. Since I hoped to be working low, I strapped my little travel tripod that folds down to ground level to the trike rack and carried into the woods with me. I don’t often use a tripod, but there are times when one just makes photographic life that much easier. Lady Slippers have a symbiotic relationship with a species of fungus that grows only on the roots of certain trees, so they are limited to patches where the conditions are exactly right. (Which is why they cannot successfully transplanted to your yard, and why you should not try. Enjoy them where they grow.) Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 126mm equivalent. Program mode with my macro modifications. f16 @ 1/40th to get the whole flower in focus. (Tripod 🙂 Processed in Photomator.