6.26.13 ~ Union, Connecticut
Mountain laurel, which is in the heath family, is Connecticut’s state flower and is abundant in moderately shaded woods in this state. The flower of the native shrub produces clusters of beautiful pinkish white blooms between Fathers Day and Fourth of July in this part of the state. The foliage is evergreen so it stays green all winter long. Hiking in the woods one may come across a thicket of mountain laurel and wonder if it is at all possible to penetrate through the tangled branches that grow close to the ground.
~ Mountain Laurel Sanctuary
evidence of other human visitors
There was a blue dragonfly flitting about us (not to mention hoards of mosquitoes!) but it wouldn’t stay still long enough to be photographed. A few days later, however, Janet found a more cooperative blue dragonfly resting on one of her tomato cages at home and sent me this picture!
I can practically smell the delicious fragrance of the flowers in your photographs!
Thank you, Laurie!
Hi. Flowering shrubs by the road make a nice fragrant drive. Jane
As long as one turns off the air-conditioning in the car and rolls down the window! 🙂
Thanks for including me on your walk. BTW it’s a toad. I love toads ! I can’t resist picking the up, but sometimes they get scared and pee on my hand !
A toad it is, then! I think getting peed on was one of the reasons I stopped picking up toads many many years ago… 🙂
Very pretty flowers. I like their delicate color shade. Do they also have a good fragrance all the way? Walking down the pathway must have been amazing. It looks fresh & lively. Thanks for sharing the pictures of your visit, Barbara.
You’re welcome, Sonali! Depending on the light the flowers look like anything from white to a light pink, and they are definitely fragrant. Still wish we could send smells over the internet! Walking was great, except for the mosquitoes – next time will be bringing bug repellent. 🙂
A very nice walk. That whimsical woodpecker almost fooled me though… 🙂
Love the blue dragonflies at this time of year.
I wonder if you manage to get any pictures of dragonflies out there on the Upper Peninsula? It’s fun having them dart around us while taking walks in the woods. 🙂
Beautiful walk, Barbara. I spent some time with mountain laurel recently, too. 🙂
Thank you, Robin. Time spent with mountain laurels is so sweet, for the eyes AND the nose. 🙂
Just gorgeous photos Barbara! I read in the comments that Mountain Laurel do have a fragrance. I’d be very surprised if I heard that they didn’t, they just “look” as if they smell beautiful. Congratulations to Janet on capturing the photo of the dragon fly, they flit way too fast for me.
Dragonflies tend to flit away too fast for me, too, but Janet seems to be catching a lot of them these days. I hope to post a collection of the pictures she’s been sending me lately. 🙂 I bet your dragonflies look as different from ours as your birds do, Joanne! Wish I could send you a little whiff of mountain laurel over the internet. 🙂