Sunday 19th June 2022

How quickly the weekend slips through our fingers.

Already it was Sunday, and for the day's thrill I was going to see an extict UK orchid.

Two members of my Kent orchid group on FB also grow their own orchids, and one of them, Graham, said, casually, that his Summer Lady's Tresses was going into flower.

As you can imagine, these are closely related to Autumn Lady's Tresses, though flower earlier in the summer. Sadly, due to drainage of their damp habitats and predation by herbologists fot pressing, the orchid became extict in the UK in about 1959.

I agreed to drive to his house and snap the orchids.

So it was I left the house at eight, drove up the M20 to Leeds, then along through Boughton Monchelsea to his house.

When I left Dover, it was dark and cloudy with drops of rain falling. Thingsimproved as I went north, to the point there was actual sunshine on the outskirts of Maidstone.

I arrived dead on time at nine, knocked on their door, and Graham let me in, he showed me straight into their conservatory, where on the table were three twisted spikes, all in flower.

Summer Lady's Tresses.

Apart from the flowering period being earlier, the other difference with ALT was that the flowers are not twisted round the spike, but in a line straight up.

I took the small pot into the garden to take shots, some came out as if they were in the wild. Others were close ups.

Graham made a brew for us, then we talked orchids.

I said I would take him to see the tongue orchids, so we drove in convoy to the other side of Maidstone where, once parked, we found the spikes in very poor condition. I think they have been poisoned, but as Graham said, if that were the case plants around them would have been affected too, and they're not. One photographer had climbed the fence to get close shots, but they wouldn't have bothered now with the remains of three wilted spikes.

I had chores to run, so had to get back to Dover. I said goodbye and made it back to the motorway, then cruised back down south.

I stopped off at Western Heights to take shots of the CSOs that thrive there. Despite it being only the middle of June, most spikes are now going to seed, turning brown. And because of the cloudy conditions and keen cool breeze, no butterflies were seen.

One final call to B&Q where I had to pick up a new toilet seat and some bird seed, meaning I got back home at midday, four hours after leaving and two hours later than I told Jools I would be.

Mike was here, talking about some ongoing family issues, which I won't go into here, but are quite serious. Talks went on for another hour over brews.

Once Mike left, we had bacon butties for lunch, followed by croissants, as we had missed breakfast two days running.

And that was that.

I am off on my travels next week, so time is ever more precious, but slips by ever quicker.

Dinner was caprese and the leftover bread turned into crispy garlic bread, washed down with more wine.

And the day was nearly over. Just time to post shots of the wild flowers seen during the week on Twitter.

I had managed to sneeze whilst stretching earlier, thus ripping a muscle in my side. I was surprised to find I had any, but any cough or sneeze now was like I had been stabbed in the side.

Sleep would be fun.