Tuesday, 16 March 2010

A Different Rainbow and an Orchid

As we returning from our early morning perambulation I spotted a rainbow. Well, part of what we normally think of as a rainbow as it was only showing on the edge of a cloud. Surprisingly, to me anyway, the Sun wasn't far away from the rainbow, a little lower in the sky and about 20 to 30 degrees to the left. At first the rainbow  appeared to be straight, which was what had caught my attention.

Rainbow

As the Sun continued to rise and the cloud moved the rainbow followed the outline of the cloud.

Rainbow 2

Also to be seen were the trails left behind by all the early morning flights from the various airports in the midlands.

Rainbow 3

Searching through some sites this may well have been what is know as a fiery rainbow which is seen when the sun's rays pass through ice crystals in high cloud.

This is one of the orchids I treated myself to last Sunday. I have always wanted a Cattleya but in the past they have been so very expensive. Also they tend to be more tender that the varieties I usually go for but this time I couldn't resist the temptation of those beautiful three inch flowers.

Cattleya

I will just have to take care to find it a suitable place next winter.
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10 comments:

  1. Linda Yarrow16 March 2010 at 16:26

    Lovely pictures John, the rainbow pictures and the orchid. We have an orchid which we have managed to get it to flower continually for over a year now.

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  2. holdingmoments16 March 2010 at 19:35

    Lights in the sky may be 'sun dogs' John. I did a google image search, and some look similar to yours.
    That's a beautiful looking orchid.

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  3. Gavin Lloyd Wilson16 March 2010 at 22:13

    John, I too have seen this "sun dog" type rainbow effect. I've got some photos somewhere...

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  4. Glo17 March 2010 at 05:33

    Finally catching up here! What a magical rainbow and orchid! Lovely photos :)

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  5. ShySongbird17 March 2010 at 13:32

    Lovely sky photos John and what a beautiful Orchid that is! My yellow (variety unknown) one which I had at Christmas, only has one flower left, there do seem to be some buds but I'm not sure whether they are actually doing anything. It is the first time I have had an Orchid and I'm really not sure I even have it in the right position in the house. As you say they are rather expensive.

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  6. Midmarsh John17 March 2010 at 18:32

    Thank you Jan. As I say I have always wanted a Cattleya. They are so showy. I can remember when they cost about £25 for one which hadn't reached flowering size.

    I wonder which orchid you have. One of many sites with information on culture is The North of England Orchid Society Website

    http://www.orchid.org.uk/intro.htm

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  7. Midmarsh John17 March 2010 at 18:33

    Thank you Glo. First time I have seen that type of rainbow.

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  8. Midmarsh John17 March 2010 at 18:34

    Hello G.L.W. My first sighting of that type of rainbow.

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  9. Midmarsh John17 March 2010 at 18:36

    Hello Keith. I also found the name 'sun dogs' along with the name 'fiery rainbow' Some of those are much more spectacular than the one I saw but it was nice to see and record one for the first time.

    Cattleyas are lovely showy orchids.

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  10. Midmarsh John17 March 2010 at 18:37

    Thank you Linda. I used to have one which would produce flower spikes virtually all year round but I 'lost' it and forgot which type it was.

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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