Yesterday, when I arrived home, I was shattered. I mean worn out to my bones. I have been travelling for four weeks, and with another trip to start on Sunday (today), by Tuesday I will be dead beat once again. I am so glad that for our holiday once again this year we are not flying anywhere, just getting in our car, and driving somewhere so remote there will be no phone signal nor no internet connection. I am so fed up with travel, airports, people and hotels, just to stay at home in bed for two weeks would be good. And then there is the chaos that is work, I won't bore you all with the details, but to me, it does seem at least I am wanted, which should be good, but seems to be just darn confusing.
I will just be glad not to think about it for two weeks. My work phone will stay at home, as will the laptop. I will have an old fashioned analogue holiday. Except for all the digital photography, obviously.
The weather was supposed to get worse through the day, so when we rose at six, and the sun was shining, my thought was for orchids, orchids in the sunshine. A friend had told me where to find a pure white Chalk Fragrant, and as it was a site I had not been to for a year, and was a pleasant walk, with the added bonus of maybe seeing an adder as we were early, it seemed a no brainer. So after a coffee, we loaded the car and drive over to Folkestone.
A short walk from the parking area, the ground dropped away to the Channel Tunnel Terminal below, already a hive of activity. We walked on along the edge of the down, looking for orchids. I spoke to a dog walker, who said he had never seen an orchid whilst out walking, but would love to. I wanted to tell him to open his eyes, but thought better of it. He strode on, and I scanned from side to side. About 10m down I saw the first spike, a Common Spotted I think, a sign that more would be close by.
Indeed, we soon saw the first hint of purple among the grass, and then my eyes settled on a lone Bee, just beside the path. Further on the Chalk Fragrants got more numerous, and in the lip of the down, capturing the rays of the rising sun, was a pure white Fragrant. Not rare, quite common, I believe. But still the first I had seen, or at least until I began to look for the oddities rather than 'just' orchids.
I got the shots I wanted, and of few of the normal coloured Fragrants.
From there it was a short drive to the well-known site for the Late Spiders, so I thought I would stop by and see the damage the hoardes have caused. Once we had parked up and walked along the down, we came to the site to see the warden has put up cages over what is left. What a poor lot they looked, partly flattened, some had been picked and even the Man were twisted and broken A poor sight for an orchid lover. The mutant had been picked, and now just the bare spike remained, so we will never know if the buds further up would have been mutants too. So sad, and makes me angry.
We walk back to the car, in a poor mood. Jools says I can do what I want because of the travel tomorrow, so I say we will go to see the Musk. I see her mood sink, but then she thinks about it, and a walk in the downs, or through an orchid meadow is never a waste of time.
At the site, we were the only folk there, just the four highland cattle munching their way through the first paddock. They seemed happy enough. In the second paddock the Greater Butterfly were still showing well, but going over, as were the Monkey, just one seemed to be in a good enough state to photograph, but I pass. Out quarry is in the next paddock, and would be a challenge to find with the Musk being so small. We do see many Chalk Fragrant, including a few that are also the pure white var. albiflora.
Looking closely at the ground for the Musk, I walk carefully back and forwards, and then I see a group of eight spikes, with another couple nearby. Just like that. Jools could then even see them from a few metres away. I make sure the ground is clear before getting down to snap them. The light is getting worse, but I am lucky that the clouds part to bathe them in golden light. Lucky me.
We walk on to see if I could find the pure white Common Spotted, and I find at least two more, and the one I saw two weeks previously was fully open now, and a wonderful sight.
We walk back to the car, then drive back home, via the pet store to pick up yet more wild bird food.
At the bottom of the valley, we spot a field of red, which can only mean poppies. We drive along a side road and come to a fine overview of the field, I think there is a path up one side of it, I am right, so we park on the side of the lane, and walk up the footpath to the edge of the field. We have to wait for the clouds to part, and the field we in sunlight. But when the clouds do part, the poppies spring to life, or their colour does. I get the shots.
That done, it was through Dover, up the hill and home. Time to make bacon butties and a huge cuppa and then the world seemed a much better place.
I look through the photos, Jools does some gardening. Lunchtime rolls round, we have cheese and crackers. Living the dream.
The afternoon drifts by, with the radio playing, the weather changing outside, clouds roll in, the wind builds and just before dinner time, the rain begins to fall.
We spend the evening watching a documentary on wildlife in Japan, which makes us even more determined to go there. One day.
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