Tuesday 19th May 2021

Look out the back window! Shouted Jools.

The fix was back, having breakfast of peanuts and fatballs. It saw me, I was it, and it was happy to be eating.

It is odd for a fox to be out in the daylight this time of years, possibly suggests a food shortage, or maybe a young fox not that good at hunting. Anyway, it had the most magnificent brush, almost as thick as its body.

It wandered off, trotting away with a fatball in its mouth.

And back to normal.

I have got used to sleeping through the alarm, so Jools had been up nearly an hour when I stirred and rose, before getting down the stairs the coffee was waiting for me.

Perfect.

Due to poor weather, and Duncan's 60th the night before and expected hangover, we were to meet later than normal, at then at the bottom of The Gogway, for a look for the top target of his trip to Kent: The Green Fly.

Having looked twice in the last week, and the suspect spikes all produced normal colour flowers, I thought it a hopeless quest. But, a walk in the woods is never wasted, is it? We will see something good, and might meet people to chat to.

So, I chill for the morning, listen to some radio, have breakfast and another coffee, then at half nine load the car to go out.

The weather was pretty poor, cloudy with rain in the air, so my mood was pretty flat. Although, the turtle dove purring above me cheered me up, although I couldn't see the bird itself.

A few minutes later, Duncn and Beccy arrive, with tails of an argument with a Range Rover and the dents to proove it.

We walk up the hill, and without any messing, go straight for the spot where I would expect to see the green Fly.

We search and search, spike after spike showed with usual coloured flowers and lips. We search the clearing, find yet more Fly, then just as we were going to move on, Beccy shouted, here's one!

And indeed, the smallest, most insignificant spike had an unfurling flower, so small you'd easily miss it. Clearly we had already several times.

We all take turns to photograph it, though it was pretty tricky. I managed to get a shot with the mini-tripod, and that being that, we moved on.

At the top meadow we found many Lady in almost full flower, so we stop and snap just about every one of them. We find a few Fly too, but noting to match the green one.

In fact there were Fly just about everywhere we looked, the site really has taken off with them.

Met met a group of four, all orchidists, and so we chat for a quarter of an hour about orchids at home and in the south of France.....

Next, I planned to take Duncan and Beccy to the nearby Green Wing site, but parking at the gate I saw a herd of cows in the field, even if they had left the orchids alone, I know that people have been charged by cows, so we thought better of it and moved on.

At Wye Down we park in the usual spot, climb the gate and into the meadow of Crosswort, a plant I only know of here and at Ranscombe Farm. I take a few shots, then we move on to look for the Late Spiders.

I knew we would see none in flower, but hoped to count the rosettes. In the end, after much searching we found two rosettes, and none putting up a spike, that may be open by the weekend, bu in the crazy year for weather, we have strong gales on Friday, so that is unlikely.

Duncan siad they were going to bail for the rest of the day, and go to Walmer Castle for some culture, and as it happened, cheese scones. So, we leave each other, and I had little else to do but head home, as it as already nearly two, and I hadn't had lunch.

I bought a pasty from the garage on Stone Street, and eat as I drove down to join the motorway and come home, arriving here at just gone three, another fine day of not working. And indeed, I have found I can easily fill my day with stuff other than work, quite how I find time to squeeze what pays the bills in, is a mystery!

I make a brew and review my shots. Write a blog, post shots. But soon it ws time to make dinner, simple bangers and mash with beans. And the mash would be fortified with proper salted herbs from Canada.

Jools comes home. We eat.

We wash up.

I make brews, which we have with the last of the all-butter shortbread. And there is yet more playoff football to watch, Sunderland at Lincoln. Our neighbour is a Sunderland fan, so I was hoping they'd do well. They lost 2-0, and are staring down the barrel of another season in Division 3.