Fairyslipper / Calypso Orchid - spring beauty

Here in central BC it's the season. Fairyslippers are still fairly common, despite significant loss of habitat and being very fragile. For those who express their appreciation for flowers by picking them, these flowers are vulnerable because of their beauty and because picking a bloom can easily uproot the whole plant. Join me in a salute to the Calypso orchid (I prefer that name - more dignified).

And, yes, that is a little insect crawling up our beauty's face.

More on Wild BC.

Birds from a Cariboo Deck No.4 - Dark-eyed Junco

Once the Varied Thrush invasion subsided, the Dark-eyed Juncos started arriving in numbers. These birds enliven our back yard with their cheerful twitting and the little flashes of white as they fly around.

More Birds from A Cariboo Deck

I've just heard from our neighbour that he is planning to take down most of his trees - essentially the continuation of our bit of forest.

Part of our forest at dusk

This will of course have a direct impact on the fauna and flora on his property and, I suspect, a smaller but significant impact on the life on our little acre. It was only a few weeks ago that I photographed a couple of deer on his land.