"Ladyslipper" or "Lady's Slipper"?

A couple of days ago, my wife told me she was going on a short hike in the woods west of Greenfield with her longtime friend Sue, the intention being the seeking out of the elusive and short-lived flower known as the "ladyslipper" (or "lady's slipper"). I couldn't remember ever having seen one of these plants before, so I wheedled my way into their excursion. (I think offering to make salads for a picnic lunch may have helped.)

It was a lovely, relatively short hike on a beautiful early summer day, and we had our picnic lunch at a spot called the "High Ledges", which offered a great view of the town of Shelburne Falls and the surrounding hills, now green and lush. Here's a shot of me and Jeannine standing on the ledges, taken by Sue...



But what was really cool was that we found ladyslippers in abundance on the hike -- first the more common pink type...



... then later some of the more rare yellow variety.



Both Sue and Jeannine told me that it's pretty unusual to find this many ladyslippers -- I think they said that on their last such jaunt, they only located a few. So I lucked out!

I'd like to thank both ladies for allowing me to intrude on their trip, and I hope I can join them next year for another ladyslipper hunt. -- PL