Last spring was so dry that not only the Sandia mountains but all the other forests in northern and central New Mexico closed well before Memorial Day in a precautionary attempt to prevent (more) wildfires.1 They didn’t reopen until near the end of June and, since calypso orchids (aka fairy slippers) bloom from the middle of May to the middle of June, I missed them completely last year.
They show up in the Sandias at about 10,000 feet and above. They’re tiny and they grow close to the ground, and they’re easy to miss even when you’re looking for them. Most of them grow in very shady, very mulchy areas that are hard to get to.2 The calypso orchid above was the first I found this year, on Gravel Pit Trail, close to where I’ve found a few others in previous years.
The photo above shows what they look like, more or less, from a standing perspective.3 The moss-covered area in the upper left is actually a fallen branch around which I wrapped my mini-tripod to take the two photos below.
As soon as I feel as if I’m walking on a giant sponge, I know I need to look extra hard for orchids. This year I noticed that, every time I moved while taking this series of photos — even a little — my tripod bounced up and down. I realized I was actually standing on many, many layers of mulch; not just one or two years’ worth, but mulch from perhaps a decade (or more).
I found these particular orchids4 — along with the two pale flowers below — on the 10K Trail. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen calypso orchids in a color other than the pink/purple above. At first I thought they might be on their way out, but when I looked at them closely they seemed quite healthy. I have no idea why they were so pale in comparison to all the rest.
The bad news came on Monday. In this incredibly wet, lush year, a wildfire began in the Sandias just three days after I took all the photos above. It started very, very close to where I’d been — so close, in fact, that it was actually named the 10K Fire. I was both horrified and thankful I’d seen the orchids before the fire started. I figured that part of the forest would be closed for at least a month, maybe even for the rest of the summer.
The good news is that I was wrong! The fire covered only 3.5 acres by the time it was contained the following day, and both the road and trails are already open again. I was assuming the orchids would burn but I don’t think the fire ever reached them.
The two photos above show my favorite orchid from this year. It was growing up against a log on one side of Survey Trail. For once, I didn’t have to clamber around in unstable mulch to get my shots — I was able to set up the tripod on solid ground. I love the dark, solid background of the log too; it was so much less busy and distracting than the mulch in all the other photos.
The Hermit’s Peak and Calf Canyon fires — in the Santa Fe National Forest — were particularly devastating. Here’s a post I wrote last year about the Cerro Pelado wildfire, also in the Santa Fe National Forest.
I generally feel every bit my age — and then some — each time I take photos of calypso orchids. This year was no exception.
I actually bent over and zoomed in for that shot. They look even tinier as you walk through the forest.
I also think the three images of the same flowers illustrate very effectively the difference perspective can make. While the leaf seems close to the orchid in the second and third photos, it seems much further away in the first.
Gorgeous!
So delicate & gorgeous! Thank you!