Early Spider-orchid

An early start on field survey, trying to beat the forecast rain. In contrast to yesterday's sunshine it was cool and overcast from the outset, and by 11 the rain had arrived. Pete and I beat a tactical retreat to the cafe at the nearby country park and enjoyed an early lunch of carrot and coriander soup. 

By the time we'd finished this the rain had eased, but it was still a bit damp for writing notes, so we decided to drive to Birling Gap to see if we could find any Early Spider-orchids. They proved rather easy to locate and we found a moderate number in the end. Compared to the Cypriot subspecies they're pretty tiny, but still very beautiful in an understated sort of way. 

By 1.30 p.m. the rain had largely gone so we headed back to our site and finished our target area by about 7. We'd originally planned to either go to a pub or get a take-away for dinner, but I felt too tired to drive anywhere so Pete made another delicious meal using the rather bizarre selection of food we had left - pasta, milk, mushrooms, red onion and black pepper and some salad leaves. It was surprisingly tasty!