Eshqua Bog, Vermont:
Unfortunately, I managed to oversleep my alarm, and slumbered for an additional two hours!
Then, while driving into Vermont I became mesmerized by the amazing fall colours and opted to
journey on more scenic
side roads instead of the main highway. Oh, and I drove into New Hampshire since that was a "new state"
for me. Oh, and I stopped off in Brattleboro in order to send my wife a gag postcard1. Oh, and then I got
distracted when I saw a mink (the whole animal, not just a pelt) running through a field. Oh, and it turned out that the country
road leading up the Eshqua Bog was much longer than I expected. The net result? I was not going to have time to see the other
bog on my return towards Connecticut.
Alas, but that would not be so bad, would it? After all, Eshqua Bog is supposed to be very nice, so I would just
spend my time there instead.
Well, you can see a typical view of
the bog in this habitat photograph. Actually a fen, this site is quite small. Because of heavy
traffic, visitors are restricted to a boardwalk. Apparently, the main attractions at the site are the native orchids that flower
each spring. These were, of course, long past flowering. While you can see some nice Sphagnum in this
photograph, the only carnivorous plants I saw on my entire reconnoitering of the site was one rather beaten up
Sarracenia purpurea. It even had a big sign next to it, saying "Sarracenia purpurea/pitcher plant".
My suspicion is that the plant was
placed there for visitors. Another sign next to it indicated "Drosera rotundifolia/sundew", but try as I
could, I was unable to find any plants. The hibernacula must have been hiding out of my view.
So it turns out that the trip to Eshqua bog was something of a dud, as far as carnivorous plants go.
It might be a great place for
orchids, but it does not hold much of interest for the monomaniacal
carnivorous plant enthusiast. (This is why, in contrast with my usual FAQ-policy of not revealing site names--I do not mind
providing this site's name on my web site--there is
nothing for carnivorous plant poachers to take!)
1Posing, of course, as dread Fungi from Yuggoth. Beth got a kick out of the postcard, which has since been
passed onto our friend, the High Priest P. D'Amato. Ask him to show it to you when you visit California Carnivores,
he might still have it.
