Swan orchids and the promise of bootlace orchids in Sheldon Forest : August 30 2025

A blue sky day for a challenging day. My wife is heading out to her father's place to collect some things for her brother. His respite home becomes his full time home now. Her brother is driving down from Tamworth to bring family support.

My place of peace in times like this is to find orchids in the bush. Had an idea to walk Sheldon Forest - two stops up the train line and maybe find some white fingers orchids

Azaleas on the way down from Turramurra Station to the forest

Context photo

Interesting totems on the scout hall - not exactly local

Information board tells me what I am looking for - seen them here before

Got pea flowers - a lot of yellow showing

A tiny pinkish pea flower. Not sure I have seen these before

A different yellow - maybe hypericum

Did catch the flashes of white up the hill in a slightly more open and grassy area - target found - white fingers orchid

Side on looks like a swan. Caladenia catenata - first for me this season. The little red dot has legs - it is a red mite spider

Twins - two plants

Of the 40 or so plants I saw, only one had a few red stripes. I checked them all. This orchid often hybridises with caladenia carnea which has carmine bands. These were the only bands I saw.

Seeded acianthus orchid

Chose not to drop down to the creek - pretty steep and never found many orchids there. And lungs are not over the two week old cold

Purple pea flower down at ground level. Great for photo work as the ground provides the backdrop to get focus right

Did the loop back down to check something - more caladenia catenata - no red showing on the dorsal sepal at all

Close up

Why do the loop twice? Wanted to check if I missed anything. I did

Yep - a budding bootlace orchid I had seen last year. Two spikes coming up here - they will lean over to the iron bark tree and reach to the sky

Here is one spike close to the tree

Here are the spikes coming from the ground. Good news is there were about 6 runners heading up. More than last year

This is where they want to get to - up the smooth trunk of the iron bark

Path marker to find them next time. The teddy that was marking the path down has gone

Back to the white fingers - double bud forming. Mostly they have only one flower

Did check this one - two plants. Success on orchids - target found and one for the next few weeks. And got to spend 2 hours bush time to collect myself

A few old style houses on the way up to the station - a bit Dutch barn

A bit more England with a grand cabbage palm

A bit of railway scenery on the high bridge crossing. The men who built this line sure made some grand cuttings

Pymble station- a common model - station in a cutting with a single platform serving a divided line

Sure pleased I got out. My wife was home just after the sun went - big day for her. Her disabled brother went to her brother's place - time with two uncles and two neices to collect themselves

Did cook dinner: with the flu abating could cook with cheese - macaroni cheese. Sorry no photos
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Daily Activity, House Chores, Photowalking

Height 183.0 cm		Weight 90.0 kg		Body Fat %
Waist cm		Thighs cm		Chest cm