On the Search for my First Orchids of the Year.

 Checking back on last year's images I realised that I had already seen the early purple orchids at Grainsby so Heather and I decided to pack a picnic and go and check them out.  Yet again it was cold with that north-easterly wind blowing off the sea.  We were soon parked up and walking the short distance along the bridleway to the spot where they grow on the banks of a ditch.  On the way we heard both great spotted and green woodpeckers - a good start.  We were not a day too soon.  The orchids were certainly at their peak if not beyond.  One theory that we had, though, was that we have had no rain for weeks and day after day with a searing easterly wind that was perhaps causing them to not look as fresh as they might.  

We were pleased to see cowslips flowering with them and this prompted us to pop over to Wold Newton to see them there.

Where the wold slopes steeply down to the road, a strip, perhaps a hundred yards wide and a quarter of a mile long curving with the valley road, has been left as a wild flower meadow.  Patches of cowslips have been seeded from another local wildflower meadow and are now beginning to spread nicely.  As the summer progresses, this strip of meadow becomes a riot of colour; a joy to behold.

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Biking and Early Purple Orchids.

 Gasping for breath I finally breasted the top of Ashy Hill - well half way up as far as the roundabout.  I was surprised and pleased to see that Heather had made it up without climbing off.  It was the first time out on the bikes for nearly 8 months and boy didn't I know about it!!  My heart rate on Ashby Hill shot up to 161 when my maximum should only be 150.  If the hospital check tonight's heart data down load tomorrow they will wonder what I have been doing!!  I used to breeze up Ashby Hill as a matter of course on a daily basis on my way to work, but never have I found it so tough.  The only way can be up!!

We had ridden from home through Waltham and were next heading along Barton Street for a mile or so before dropping down off the Wolds into Grainsby Park.  Here we turned off road onto the bridleway to Ashby Cum Fenby to have our picnic lunch at the spot where we had found early purple orchids last year.  I hadn't realised that I found them in prime condition on the 19th April last year so they were looking a tad tired.  Still they made some pleasing images and it was good to see them.  I enjoyed experimenting with the 80mm macro lens with the 1.4 converter attached as well as a wide angle shot.  There was a good display of cowslips here as well.

By the time we reached home my rear end knew that it was the first ride after 8 months!!!

• Early Purple Orchid
• Cowslip
• Hedge Garlic
• Red Campion
• Bluebell
• Dandelion
• Daisy
• White dead nettle

• Chiffhaff x3
• Green Woodpecker x2

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Go West Young Man

We decided to have a change today and head west over to Bradley and Dixon't Woods rather than the usual Horsefield walk.  It was again a cloudless morning as I walked down to the doctor's for my warfarin blood test, Heather joining me when I had finished my appointment.  We continued to the edge of the village before setting out over the fields to Bradley Gairs wood.  I was looking forward to this excursion as I knew that the wood anemones had been out for a couple of weeks, bluebells were appearing and I also hoped for more early purple orchids.  From this side of the village we were able to look out over the coastal marsh to the Lincolnshire Wolds.  We commented that we could see a wood on one of our favourite walks in the Wolds: Stock Furlong.  We love the way that we can pick this wood out from many places, including the P&O ferry when we are sailing over to Zeebrugge or Rotterdam.  The bright, vivid yellow of the fields of oilseed rape could be seen dotted all the way to the Wolds.

As soon as we entered Bradley Gairs we found violets, stitchwort and swathes of bluebells; thankfully English and not Spanish.  As we left the wood we were pleased to find plenty of early purple orchids.  We crossed Bradley Road and wandered down the farm track for a quarter of a mile before turning right and heading towards Bradley Woods themselves.  Once in Bradley we followed the perimeter path enjoying the spectacle of wood anemones, violets, stitchwort, bluebells and orchids carpeting the woodland floor.  

Stopping to photograph the wood anemones we then crossed the road and continued on the perimeter path around Dixon's wood, floristically just as spectacular.  I was highly delighted to come across a common male fern (Dryopteris felix-mas), having burst out of it's knuckle and the fronds beautifully unfurling.  This is one of my favourite wild life photography subjects - I just think that it so beautiful.  I am also fascinated by the knuckle of the fern, looking like a closed fist just before the fronds beginning to uncurl.  Interestingly I wrote down relatively few birds; I think with it being so windy bird song was not so noticeable.

All too soon it was time to leave the wood and head back across the fields and home for lunch.  All told we had walked 6 miles and were ready for a sit down.

• Great Tit
• Blue Tit
• Blackbird
• Chaffinch
• Wren
• Robin
• Crow
• Skylark

• Violet
• Greater Stitchwort
• Bluebell
• Wood Anemone
• Cow Parsley
• White and Red Dead Nettles
• Wild Arum or Lords and Ladies
• Starwort in the ditch after leaving Dixon's

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Bluebell

Bluebell

Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid

Wood Anemone

Wood Anemone

Male Fern

Heading towards Bradley Gairs

Bradley Gairs

Bradley Gairs

Bradley Gairs

Looking over rape to Bradley Woods

Bradley Woods

Bradley Woods

Dixon's Wood

Dixon's Wood

Dixon's Wood

Dixon's Wood

Dixon's Wood

Dixon's Wood

Dixon's Wood

Leaving Dixon's Wood

Leaving Dixon's Wood

Leaving Dixon's Wood

An Excellent Ride with Heather.

Still blowing a cold wind off the sea today, but it was cloudless ans sunny, so Heather and I had an early lunch and then, taking  hot cross buns and a flask of drinking chocolate we set off on our bikes.  We wanted to ride through Grainsby Park but not quite so far as the last ride where we rode to Wold Newton.  Instead from the roundabout on Ashby Hill we turned south on Barton Street, the A18.  Normally this ride is somewhat like a race track with motorists in a hurry 'cutting off the corner' to avoid Grimsby and get to the A16 Louth Road.  In this time of lockdown, however, it was much quieter enhance by the fact that the road is closed at Laceby.  So, we were able to cycle along without the polluting irritation of traffic and the risk to life and limb.  The view from the Wold Edge out over the coastal marsh to the Humber Estuary was wide and expansive, the clear air giving superb views.  Fields of oil-seed rape painted the country side with colour contasting strongly with the blue of the sky and green of newly emerging leaves.  In the far distance the wind farm in the North Sea beyond Spurn was clearly visible.

At the top of the hill down to Grainsby we turned off and sped down the swooping descent into the park where we stopped and had the second course of our lunch leaning against a fence basking in the sun.  Lunch over we retraced our steps for half a mile before turning off along the bridleway to Ashby-cum-Fenby.  We thoroughly enjoyed this mile or so of off-road riding, although if we do much more I shall need to deploy my mountain bike.  Imagine our delight however when we came across a ditch whose bank was thick with coswlips, violets and early purple orchids.  There must have been 200 individual orchid; they made a splendid sight.

On reaching the road again we rode through the village before turning back onto the road back home.  Altogether 16 miles.  Brilliant.
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A Walk in Dixon Woods

It was a beautiful day today and, not wanting to drive far, we decided to try Dixon Wood on the opposite of the road to Bradley for a change.  In some ways it is more attractive than Bradley with a more open woodland with quite a large number of hazel coppice stools in evidence.  Bluebells were again plentiful, as was stitchwort and one or two good patches of early purple orchids.  Red campions were coming into flower and there were still some primroses showing flowers.  Initially the scent of may blossom was heavy on the air, but as we got further around the wood, the cool breeze off the sea brought the heavy aroma of oil seed rape.  In one of the more open areas which must be more acidic, bracken was growing up amongst the bluebells.  At one point we came across a very large patch of thriving bugle, the blue flower spikes thrusting up through the surrounding vegetation.  The down side of Dixon Wood over Bradley is that a good stretch of the footpath runs along side the road, busy with traffic using Bradley Road as a shortcut to the main Louth road, so it gets intrusively noisy.