Sunday 23rd June 2019

Its getting dark so early in the evenings now, its like November!

Not really.

But, it is now after the equinox, so the days will begin to shorten, a minute a day at first, but getting less and less each day.

So, we must make the most of these summer days, long days, and warm evenings because in 6 months it will be mind-winter.

And the cycle will begin again.

So, Jools says, that if we were going to go out walking, we should go out earlier rather than later.

Which is what we did.

There are so many orchid sites, that there are few opportunities for the international playboy and quality expert to visit them outside peak times. But, I should, as where orchids grow at a site, different ones might grow at later times.

I had hear it said that the downs about Temple Ewell and Lydden can appear pink due to the sheer numbers of Fragrant Orchids.

Best get up there, then.

So, we park behind the old George and Dragon pub, then walk up the path through the woods, stopping off to look for butterflies in the large meadow, but see just a tatty blue, too weatherbeaten to tell if was a Common or Adonis Blue.

I carry on through the wood, and out into the open on top of the down. Stretching before me was a carpet, in places, of Common Fragrants.

They are mostly of the same shade, and mostly small. But a few look different enough to check out.

Again there were no butterflies, and mostly the Fragrants, but with spikes of yet to open Pyramidals, showing a vibrant pink colour, pretending to be Burnt Tips, but the shade not quite right.

On the way back down, I find for spikes of almost pure white Common Spotteds, something odd about them, a little whispy in the sepals, but the lips and lip markings looked normal.

We walk back down to the car, and drive to the athletic ground for the annual hunt for the Kent Frog Orchids.

These have not been seen for 35 years, so is a bit of a wild goose chase, but then a walk is never wasted, and there is a chance, slim I know, that we might get lucky.

The slopes either side of the clubhouse had been partly strimmed, but further up spikes of CSOs and yramidals could be seen. And above that, on the old putting green, the council had left the grass to grow and if you looked hard enough, in the lea of the wood were several more CSO spikes.

We walk up through the woods, and up the steep path leading up the down, mainly to see if the Knapweed Broomrape was showing this year: it wasn't, maybe it had been knocked over or failed. I don't know. But we saw no orchids either.

Final port of call as the council offices again, to retake the Bee orchid pictures as my new camera creates a colour cast on shots under certain conditions.

Just as well I did go, as I found another unusual spike opening up. I need to go back in a couple of days to check on it.

We g home to have lunch, toast and freshly made humus. Which was garlicky and tasty. Jools went to meet a friend in the afternoon, and take her to the old hoverport. I could have gone, but it was cloudy, and probably too late now for the Bees, so I stay home and do some gardening.

I pull up swathes of poppies, most had gone to seed, and we wanted to stop getting more, but the seeds can last a decade, we will have poppies for many years.

I also do the first fruit harvest, and get redcurrants and raspberries. Sadly, the birds have got most of the gooseberries, but I get a bowlfull, and will have them for breakfast on Monday morning.

I wait for Jools to come back before cooking chorizo hash, which we had not had for maybe four months, and it was so good. I cooked the potatoes extra long, so they were doubly crunchy.

Lovely.

And that was the weekend really. Time to listen to the radio, post some shots for #wildflowerhour, write a blog or two, have a shower, and that's it.

Phew.

But no travel next week, so we can lay in bed to half five in the morning!