And so I come to the end of this tardy and drawn out #YearInReview. Fittingly for the end of the year, the photo of the month comes from what I call my “Dead Flower Society” collection.

You can add to a Dead Flower Society collection most anywhere in Louisiana in December because our dead flowers most likely will not be covered by snow! But a Louisiana bog offers the special treat of dead and dying pitcher plants.

In December 2021, I spent a couple hours at Cooter’s Bog, one of my fave spots in the spectacular Kisatchie National Forest that sprawls down the west side of Louisiana. Cooter’s has colors and moods to go with every season of the year. Spring’s pastel turns into summer’s sea of white-topped sedge and yellow-green pitcher plants dotted with hot pink grasspinks.

In fall, the pitcher plants come into their own. The “lids” go first, then the yellow and red spread downward, intermingling with lingering green. By December, they are on fire. But the loss of chlorophyll and their impending collapse do not seem to dampen their spirits one bit. They joke and laugh to the end.

Maybe they know they won’t be gone long? Spring comes early in Louisiana.

#BestOf2021