Finally, a day in the bush

Some weeks I just can't get out into the bush, and I begin to feel starved, and it feels worse if it happens in spring. I've been indoors for a fortnight and was getting desperate.

But today was the annual wildflower show put on by the Friends of the Brisbane Ranges, the weather was perfect and I was unencumbered by duties and tasks (if you don't count housework) so off I went. The displays were excellent and the food provided by the Anakie school parents tasty. There were some organised lectures and bus tours that were heavily booked - I gave those a miss this year and explored some favourite spots by myself. The Brisbane Ranges is a fantastic place to visit at any time of the year but spring is best and today there was colour everywhere. Most of the ranges were burnt badly several years ago so it was interesting to see the plants recovering in the burnt areas and compare with those in the unburnt patches.

The Bert Boardman Reserve at Steiglitz is a great spot for lunch and today I walked the tracks behind the reserve. There were a few orchids flowering there, including some delightful patches of Rabbit-ears Thelymitra antennifera. And I found one Small Spider-orchid Caladenia parva. It really is small. The one I found was about 5 cm tall. There were also lots of peas and daisies flowering, but that's another story.