Tag Archives: sundews

Nuk Tessli July 2015

1 paintbrush and glacierIt was exciting to return to Nuk Tessli again in July 2015.  As always, the journey begins with a float plane.  The weather had been so hot, but it had mercifully cooled down somewhat.  I was to fly in very early and that morning the temp had dropped to -3C – I even had to scrape ice off my windshield.  The pilot is bundled up as he is fuelling the Cessna 180 at the Tweedsmuir Air dock in Nimpo Lake.

2 nimpo dockTen minutes after we took off, we were crossing Charlotte Lake. Note Mt Monarch peeking over the ridge.

3 crossing Ch LkAnd finally, what I still think of as “My Lake” with the cabins on the point in the foreground.

4 cabins in foregroundIt is always interesting to see what Doron has done since my last visit.  He is building a new cabin.

4a doron's cabinAnd the humble stone oven, in which I baked hundreds of loaves of bread, has undergone a metamorphosis.  It now has various stone cooking areas and a barbecue on the surface, and an old stove top oven sitting atop the chimney does duty as a smoker.

4b ovenThe first morning was a Nuk Tessli classic.

5 1st sunrise 1And I was the only one who was awake to see it!

6 1st sunrise 2

7 1st sunrise 3

7a another sunriseWe had a couple of hot days, but mostly the weather was cool and stormy.  I can’t say I was too upset after the terrible heat we had endured for so long.

8 cooland stormyOne morning there was even fresh snow on the mountains.

8a fresh snow on queenLike everywhere, everything was dry, dry, dry.  This meant the flowers on the whole were disappointing.  A few species did well, notably the false hellibore,

8b  f helliboreWhich has such spectacular leaves.

9 f hellibore leafThe pond lilies also made a nice show.

11 pond lilyThe loons as always were much in evidence.

12 loonAs were the spotted sandpipers.  (The pale one is a young one.)

13 spotted sandpipersMany flowers that should have bloomed at this time were finished.  Valerian seeds look like sea anemones.

16 valerian seeds

Several species that don’t normally show until well into August were already out.  This white bog orchid has  flowers arranged in a spiral – it is known as lady’s tresses.

15 spiranthes 1The pyramid spiarea is usually the last to flower.

14 spiariea 2It is always fun to see the long-leaved sundews.  The meadows where they live were so dry, only a fraction of the normal number of plants had grown.

17 IMG_5162By shoving the camera against the curled leaves, I could see the small insects the plants were digesting.

18 IMG_5158Here is something with wings.

19 IMG_5165I was to be at Nuk Tessli for 10 days.  The following posts cover the two main hikes that I did.