Creeping Lady's Tresses

This morning's walk again took me past the Upper Rabbit Field, to see that the farmer has managed, despite the miserable weather, to harvest his crop of grass, using, amongst other machines, a fine old tractor.

As I walked up the track beside the field I was harassed by stone chat parents which were protecting their newly-fledged chicks.

I returned home through damp, dripping forestry, looking, along this particular section of the path, for the creeping lady's tresses that I found here last summer. It took some time....

....to find them and even longer to obtain a half-decent photograph as they seem to choose the darkest and most inaccessible spots in which to grow.

This orchid is found widely across Northern Europe and northern North America but in Britain is not common and largely confined to Scotland, particularly areas of the ancient Caledonian forest. We've found it at three sites locally: this one, another in the forestry below Bheinn Bhraggie, and in a pine plantation near Littleferry. Its small, pale flowers, and its habit of choosing dark places makes it difficult to find but the effort is well worth it for the delicate beauty of this tiny flower.