Summer solstice (delayed) and Lucy's cake

Good things happen at the height of summer (well at the Summer Solstice at least). In Robertson, it usually means we turn off our heaters (in my case, I did that last week).

That is good for Global Warming. In these Post-Copenhagen Days of Apocalypse, it means I was (until I turned the heater off last week) killing the Planet faster than it will otherwise die (of natural causes - by converting itself to a "Red Giant"). Don't fret, experts predict we have some 5 billion years (give or take a bit).

You can see that I am "Over" Copenhagen. As I am concerned, we have a hypocritical, or schizophrenic Government, but I'll leave you to make up your own mind about those options.

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To get over this fit of despondency, I decided to go down to Kangaloon to check for summer-flowering Ground Orchids (the Solstice was yesterday, of course). It took me a while to find any, but once I did, of course, I started to see lots of them. That is the usual story with Orchids - "get your eye in". Once you do that - train your eye to look for what it is you are actually looking for. Do that, and then you see them almost everywhere.

The first species I went looking for is the Little Tongue Orchid (Cryptostylis leptochila). There were some which had finished already, which surprised me. But then I found lots just opening up.

One open flower, and many buds developing.

Side on view
Full view of the flower - low angle shot
Click to enlarge image, to appreciate the details of the flower.
The reverse of the leaf of Cryptostylis leptochila.
It is typical of this species in that it is a burgundy colour on the back

A few metres down the road I found my first Hyacinth Orchids (of the year) (Dipodium roseum). (DJW Edit - actually Dipodium punctatum) Oddly enough, the very first one I found had finished flowering (as with the Cryptostylis). Do these co-incidences mean that the early flowers had been dried up prematurely by a sudden burst of hot weather? Or else, had I just missed the true start of the season? (I had not "looked" for about 10 days.)

Anyway, here are some more of the Hyacinth Orchid flowers.

Click on the image to enlarge it to see the fine details of the labellum.
There is a rain drop on the labellum.
It has a hairy "brush" of pink fibres.

Four stems growing side by side.

Here is a cluster of Hyacinth Orchids growing right beside the road.

Having ascertained that the summer Orchids were starting to flower, I kept on driving down the road, to catch up with my friend Lucy. I had not seen her for several months, as she had been away from home at various times I had dropped by. Today she was at home.

I got there just as a huge thunderstorm broke out.
The power went down.

It did provide a brief photo opportunity. This stunning silvery-barked Scribbly Gum in her front yard was highlighted against the "lowering sky".We chatted and after a while the power came back on, and Lucy announced that she proposed to make a Tea Cake.
Goodness me, no wonder I like the lady!
Happy memories.
Tea Cakes take me back to my childhood.
Another friend of Lucy's turned up, with her baby, joining Lucy's 3 kids and another friend and me. We all sat down to enjoy the Tea Cake, which was still warm, and coated in fresh runny cream. Yum!

Needless to say, I managed to overlooked Lucy's small contribution to Global Warming, as I enjoyed my share of the warm Tea Cake.