Orchids, Gentians, and more from September in Michigan

We made a few trips to to Barry County Michigan in September to see wildflowers.  It started stormy which isn't good because many flowers including Fringed Gentians won't  open on a cloudy day.  This was the day we could go and we didn't really get rained on (except on the way in the car, then it was pouring) so it turned out okay.

The poor little fen was ravaged with the rainwater. 

Most of the wildflowers survived but were a bit waterlogged.

 Nodding Ladies' Tresses orchid

Along this trail are Spotted Touch-me-nots, also called Jewelweed. 

These are the plants with fun pods that burst open when you touch them.  If you do  pop one open, take the seed and peel off a bit of its skin.  The seed should be Robin egg blue. 

 Touch-Me-Not pod and seeds

  

Now for one of the very special plants that we came to see, the Fringed Gentian. 

 The Fringed Gentian was tightly furled.

 We found some slightly open...

Later in the day, at a nearby lake, we found Fringed Gentian just open after the sky brighten a bit.

 And finally found one fully open.

A peek inside a Fringed Gentian.
We also saw several types of asters...

And a huge Bull Frog!

An alien, actually a Chinese Praying Mantis

 We still saw dragonflies too.  This will all be changing next month as the weather gets cooler.

Grass of Parnassus was still blooming ...

Kalm's Lobelia still in bloom.

 Some sort of tiny bladderwort blooming.

Coming home the clouds started to build again.