A couple weeks ago,  we had the lovely four day weekend known as Fall Break.  Although I used some of this time to catch up on school work, stupid TV, and house cleaning, I also took advantage of the break to go on a camping trip to Carolina Beach State Park, at the mouth of Cape Fear River. In addition to some lovely walks and board gaming in the park, and walks along the Atlantic coast in Kure Beach, we made a detour to the Green Swamp Preserve. This reserve, owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy, boasts a high density of carnivorous plants, some of which are rare or endangered.  For the kind of nerd who gets excited about plants that eat animals, it was a great place to spend an afternoon.

Here are a few photos of pitcher plants, Venus fly traps, and the long-leaf pine savanna ecosystems in which they live:

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If you want to see more pictures of carnivorous plants in North Carolina (and you know you do, because they’re super cool!), head on over here.