Sundew, Upper Leach's Pond, Borderland State Park, North Easton, Massachusetts. Good Photos from 2009.

This a sundew about to flower on a floating island of peat in Upper Leach's Pond at Borderland State Park on the North Easton/Sharon line in Massachusetts. This was taken July 17, 2009.

Getting this photo required swimming about 200 feet out from shore to a small peat island with an underwater camera and climbing on top of the island, which is like a soggy mattress suspended in 15 feet of water, and not falling off or through it or stepping and falling and squishing all of the delicate bog plants growing on it.

This is something I've wanted to do since I was a little kid and first went to Upper Leach's Pond fishing with my dad. This was the only good shot from about 40 taken. Getting a sharp focus on the tiny droplets of "dew" the plant uses to attract and catch and eat insects was very hard, which caused most of the rejects. The overcast sky helped bring out the intense colors.

These sundews (and pitcher plants) do not grow on the shore of the pond, but only on the floating peat islands. The green in the background is not the shore, but an even larger island farther out in the pond. Without a waterproof camera, it's pretty much impossible to get a photo of these cool little carnivorous plants.

Click to embiggen.