wandering the woods

wandering the woods
I come upon a wonder --
giant Jack-in-the-pulpit

At the dead end of our gravel road, I decide to bushwhack through the woods, figuring I'll meet up with the path down to Pilgrim Creek. The path I find looks like it hasn't been used by anyone for years. But because I ventured off the beaten path, I come across the biggest Jack-in-the-pulpit I've ever seen. Each of the lobes of the tripartite leaves are as long as my fingers spread wide and the twin leaves come up to my knee. The seed capsule standing upright between the two leaf stems looks like a knobby green egg.

Another seed pod lying almost on the ground nearby is one turning reddish orange at the top. It will be bright red when fully ripe. Hope I can relocate it to collect some seeds!