Tundra flowers

[Blue_In_AK]

I'm going to take a little break from the big rocks and get you up close and personal with the tundra growth. I'm a huge fan of tundra, not only because it's nice to walk on, soft and springy, but it's like a tiny little world of its own.

The big picture





Closer

[Immad2]

1. Gorgeous pictures Blue_In_AK! I like the closeups. Have you taken any

macro pictures of the plants in the fourth picture - they look almost like lace.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. I didn't do any macros

of these because the only lenses I had with me on this hike were the 17-85 and the 70-300, and this was about as close as I could get with what I had on at the time (the 17-85, I believe). I was having so many issues by this point with the wind and trying to keep the dust and such out of the camera, that I didn't have much of a chance to experiment. Not to mention the fact that we'd already been on the trail about eight hours and still had about six more miles to walk. Thank goodness for that midnight sun. One thing we didn't have to worry about was it getting dark before we got back to camp. :)

[Immad2]

5. Truly fascinating that they survive the harsh cold.

They seem so small and fragile.Thank you so much for sharing. Beautiful!

[bvar22]

2. How do these survive?

They seem so delicate and fragile, yet survive months and months in the deep freeze.
Thanks for showing us something few of us will ever see in person.

BTW: Good job on the contest.
:patriot:

[Blue_In_AK]

4. That's the thing that amazes me about tundra, too...

These little flowers and plants are incredibly delicate and beautiful. I think they survive because they are so close to the ground that they can't get whipped about by the wind, and also they get buried under a thick blanket of snow in the winter which protects them. I really wish I could have spent more time up there and taken more photos, but as I said, it was getting late and we weren't prepared to spend the night.

[Whoa_Nelly]

6. Tundra!

Always have found it fascinating! So many plant and fungus species per square foot...absolutely amazing!

Thanks for posting, Blue! :hi: