The Covid pandemic, I am sure, has knocked everybody`s plans for the year truly right on the head. Some readers may have caught the virus, or even lost somebody, so I won`t be putting my views on the government`s handling of the situation here. We will all have different thoughts depending upon our personal experiences. All I will say is that devolution of Wales has meant a slower return to any sort of normality with the Sennedd seemingly incapable of of any decision making apart from waiting to see what happens in the rest of the U.K. So basically it is damage limitation to orchideering trips, at least for the first half of the season. Living within a few miles of the English border has meant that (unofficially) I can get out and about a bit, but only sort of locally, and then to orchid sites that are already well known to me. A few new discoveries are possible though. The biggest problem is lack of facilities. I fail to see the logic of telling people to wash their hands frequently, and then keep public lavatories closed. What I will say is that by going to the various orchid sites we have not got remotely close to any other people, unlike even a walk down our road to the local shops. I have felt safer out in the wilds but to be honest I was was willing to take my chances in order to see orchids. It was just not practical to visit many places.

Finally restrictions began to be eased in July, even if Wales lagged behind England. This still only partly helped orchideering. Nowhere to stay or have a coffee, and WCs remained closed, Then even when hotels opened distancing still meant restrictions and I had a dismal stay down in Hampshire; I will not bore you with the details, but the experience has put me off staying away until the old normal returns. Sadly, the best of the orchid season has passed by.
But on a positive note there have been a few absolutely stunning orchids in the latter part of the season. I could add a pair of Common Spotted x Marsh Fragrants to the one seen last year, and then there was The Daddy of all Frog Orchids ..... and lastly an orchid I did not expect to see without a ferry trip or two. I leave it for you to find what, when and approximately where.

And so the 2020 Orchid season just seemed to fizzle out. Do the above three beauties make up for essentially missing half the season, and no real away stays? No. Hopefully by 2021 terms like social distancing will have been scrap-heaped and heard ever heard again, and during the autumn I can start to may plans for the coming year. Having lost a full season with holiday plans for the Med, the Burren, and southern England binned (or spoiled by ridiculous social distancing measures), I shall have a lot of catching up to do. Twice as much orchideering in 2021? I certainly hope so!

And before I forget, I have actually heard that some of you even read My Ramblings. Consequently I have added a new section entitled `Which Species` where I do not actually answer that question, but go off at a tangent.