blowing in the wind

...today has been a very windy day but we have been spared the rain that seems to have affected much of the country. In fact, we had plenty of sunshine which, out of the wind, was warm and pleasant.

I decided to go to one of my favourite orchid hunting areas in the pastures below Langton Matravers for today's blip. The wildflower hay-meadows were looking fantastic and the taller grasses were providing some much needed shelter for the more delicate plants in their midst. These fields are full of early-spider orchids in spring and have smaller colonies of rarer orchids too, such as this lovely green-winged (aka green-veined) orchid Anacamptis morio. If you zoom in on those petals you will see the green veins that give it its name...