Thursday, February 15, 2007

Amorous Carnivorous

These bladderworts were in flagrant delecti ( I hope that means what I think it means) in the swamps of Devil's Hammock.
Most of the year they are submerged "Pondweed" quietly doing photosynthesis AND devouring pond plankton that they trap in clever little ... um, plankton traps. In the spring, up comes their private parts for a little bit of romantic pollinating.
They're blooming en masse and present a beautiful image along the rough roads that cut through the hammock.
They turned out to be frustrating to photograph. I either overexposed the blossoms or underexposed the submerged portion. A gentle breeze did not help the focusing either.
(What's that whining noise? ... oh, it's me)
I can't seem to get a photo of them that I'm satisfied with, but this one was the best of the bunch.
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18 comments:

pissed off patricia said...

Looks good to me. Umm, should we be watching this? Seems they would want their privacy. ;)

Anonymous said...

I think most cheesecake photos are airbrushed anyway. I wouldn't be too worried about not getting a perfect shot.

Anonymous said...

First, Go Gators!! Wasn't that an amazing comeback? Bet your wife enjoyed her valentines present! ;)

Second, I have the same problem when photographing outdoors. I don't often realize how much of a breeze is in the air until I have to zoom in to get a photo and the darned leaf/flower/branch/etc won't hold still!!!
And then there's the lighting, which is always tricky as well.

still, I can imagine what a pretty scene this must be; the fragrant bladderworts blooming across the pond must be gorgeous at certain times of the day, or even in the fog. Great shot!

Anonymous said...

Seems to me that the photograph shows both parts very well. Of course to actually see the action, the tiny little bladders opening and sucking in their little prey, we'd have to have a second photo, but I'm sure you're working on that, FC ;-)

We found bladderworts in our little artificial carnivorous plant bog, which isn't at all submerged. So I'm guessing the bladders are working at the sand/peat level doing their thang with the films of water that cling to the soil. Amazing!

SophieMae said...

Looks pretty darn good to me, as well. I think yellow is almost as tricky to shoot as white. I re-learned this very frustrating lesson yesterday, trying to snap several Hypericum varieties back in the woods. That and their over-friendly attitude. You've met those, I'm sure... the ones that see the camera and start waving wildly at it.

Karen Schmautz said...

Well...it sure looked good on my computer screen. What's "flagrant delecti"?

threecollie said...

That is a really neat sort of plant. Would be nice in my water garden, except that I assume it doesn't like frost much.

robin andrea said...

I think the photo is quite good. I've never seen this plant before, and it's got quite interesting spring behavior.

Aikäne said...

Looks perfect to me. I can almost smell the swamp.

Deb said...

We have three or four different species of bladderwort around here. Obviously they're not in bloom yet like yours!

R.Powers said...

POP,
It's okay, in the picture, the bees haven't arrived at the party yet. Crazy swingers!

Anon,
Tell me that isn't so. You're crushing all my idols.

Laura,
For a few quarters I was worried she would think I was some kind of jinx, but the boys pulled it out. Whew!

Wayne,
That is amazing that they can live in your bog, but when I think about my pond drying up, the bladderworts do stay green for a long time in the mud after the water is gone.

Sophie,
They need to tone down that exuberance.

Hick,
I have always taken that to mean, um... "caught in the act of procreating, or at least caught in the act of something"

ThreeCollie,
Don't give up hope. Read Deb's commnent ... she's in MN.

Robin,
Very common here, but I don't know how far west it goes.

Deb,
Mine will be exhausted and submerged by the time yours get going.

ImagineMel said...

yep yep....fr. Latin, "while the crime is blazing" Whoo hoo!

The MacBean Gene said...

I'll bet next year she'll be rooting for my Bulls! Photo looks good to me altho' it doesn't show the underwater parts very well but than again maybe that's the part that's underexposed.

The MacBean Gene said...

But that's what you said, isn't it.
Been a long day.

Anonymous said...

Birds do it! Bees do! Even Bladderworts among the cypress trees do it! Ooh, aah, I would like to see this plant, up close and personal. The picture is fine and I like the motion on the surface.

LauraHinNJ said...

There's a lot of flagrant things going on in the blogospehre here lately. Nice capture.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was a lovely picture! I'm sure the light reflecting off the water confused your camera and made it even more difficult to get this shot!

From summer vacations in the Adirondacks, I know bladderworts are very common in ponds there ... which freeze over completely in the winter ... so they must be quite cold-tolerant (or perhaps there are regional species or subspecies that are more cold-tolerant).

Maybe ThreeCollie can google a local native plant nursery in her state that carries these interesting plants?

R.Powers said...

Mel,
Thanks. I thought so.

Mac,
No problem.

Vicki,
Thanks!

Laurahinnj,
Yes, I noticed that theme this week.

Betsy,
Thanks. That's good info and the nursery is a great idea.