Sunday 9th May 2021

You spend all week, nay, several weeks planning a day out orchiding with like-minded folks, and you forget to arrange the weather.

Typical.

But, after seven whole days stuck in the house with the latest gout flare, it was exciting to be planning on the day's trip and places we would visit.

I was up at quarter past five, I fed the cats, made coffees and then sat down to check the interwebs, and was surprised to find there was a band of storms heading up the Channel. We'd be fine, wouldn't we?

Apparently not.

So, twenty to eight, I go out with the rain already beginning to fall, and the sky getting darker by the minute.

It'll clear up I said not believing it.

By the time I got to the traffic lights at the top of the tunnel, it was hammering down, and lightning flashed around.

By the time I reached the car park, it was coming down to hard that I would get soaked running to the ticket machine, so I sat and waited.

I even took a video.

I ran to the shelter to see if a Twitter friend, Andrew, had arrived from Cambridge. He had.

We looked at the rain banging down, falling so hard the drops bounced a foot back in the air, and the car park turned into a lake.

But after 15 minutes, it wased off, we went to pay our car park fee, grab our gear and make for the cliffs to check on the remeaining Late Spiders. THis is what Andrew had come to see, and the twenty or so spikes seemed rather sad, maybe no non-orchidists, but outside the south coast, theese can't be found.

Terry from my FB Orchid group also tagged along, so once back at the car park, we got in our cars for the next location: a check on the Late Spider Orchids. Or orchid, as one spike is always much earliert han the others.

Bu the cold spring, and chilly nights have meant the tiny orchids are at least a week behind the last few years, and once we had driven up the down, parked, we each took a snap of the most advanced rosette and walked back to the car.

Next was Lydden to see the Man Orchids, and I had high hopes that there would be many spikes in flower.

We park in the meridian of the old dual carriageway, just as a policeman was going by, and I was certain he would turn round and ask what the heck we thought we were doing. But we were left to it.

We climb of the stile, and jump over the drainage ditch, then walk to the bank and we were presented with a lot of spikes, but many still with no open flowers, and those that were open only had one or two. Hardly no movement since we were last there two weeks previous. So we all take a couple of shots, then drive along the A2 to Woolage to investigate the Bird's Nest.

The site has failed for the last two years, but I had hopes. Anyway, there would be dozens of White Helleborines anyway.

Or so I thought.

THere were no Bird's Nest, and at first, no White Helleborines at all. After looking closer, we saw a few fresh spikes just emerging. It'll be at least two weeks before they flower, and that might explain the lack of Bird's Nest.

We walk back to the car, at least at Yocklett's we knew we would see orchids in flower.

So, I took them on an interesting route, down narrow lanes and through quiet villages, pretty much all six foot sixers, passing by Park Gate Down before emerging into Stelling, crossing Stone Street and parking at the bottom of the Gogway.

Here we are again.

We walk up the hill and into the reserve.

Our main target, the green Fly wasn't out either, but at the top of the slope we see several Lady, and along the path, a Fly or two in flower.

I get to snap a pair of Brimstones, while they were not quite maiting, they had moved on from the butterfly restaurant and were slipping into something more comfortable.

Easier to snap when they get that on their mind.

As we walked down the lower path, I realised that my foot was all achey. I wanted to go on, or carry on with Andrew to Bonsai, but it would have been foolhardy. So, once back art the road, I turn down instead and go back to the car to drive home.

Back home, I make brews and we feast on the leftover short cakes, before Jools went swimming.

I put up my foot and watched football, after reviewing my shots.

THe afternoon passed quietly, and clouds built up again, and by tea time, more storms had drifted up the Channel and was making rain.

Lots of rain.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed, rain lashed down, and we both thought of the water being topped up in the butts.

It faded away to nothing soon enough, and the early dusk merged into the actual dusk, night fell and we went to bed.