Author Archives: JDO

R and I were out in the garden this afternoon, when this very fresh Peacock whizzed past us and landed on a leaf in the rose bed. You’ll note that it’s a bramble leaf, but though this offends me it’s … Continued

I went looking for beautiful Demoiselles this morning, at the site where I took this photo last year, but all I got was extreme embarrassment and a severely bruised shin, from stepping on a manhole cover that tilted, sending me … Continued

After a truly awful night, the first half disturbed by the heat and the second half by a succession of thunderstorms, I crawled out of bed this morning feeling thoroughly out of sorts. My mood wasn’t helped by the political … Continued

It was going on for 8pm when I took this photo, by which time I was starting to wonder what I was going to be able to post today. It’s been such a hot day that there was virtually nothing … Continued

Someone told me recently that Croome is a good site for Small Red-eyed Damselflies, a species I’d never photographed, and I walked all the way round the estate today, carrying two cameras in sticky heat, looking for some and becoming … Continued

I zoomed over to Trench Wood ‘for an hour’ this morning, and wound up staying nearly four. The whole site was teeming with butterflies – I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen them at such a density in the wild … Continued

And goodness knows, we need some. R and I went to London for another pro-EU demonstration, this one organised by Scientists for EU. It was a much smaller event than the one in March, on which we shuffled forward so … Continued

I feel a bit awkward about the amount of water I used on the garden yesterday, given that the rain has pelted down for most of today. In my defence, it was only forecast to be a bit damp, and … Continued

Me: “Well, look at you two! Those antennae look as though the ends have been dipped in ink, so you must be – “ Male Essex Skipper (huffily decoupling): “Having a private moment – or so we thought.” Me: “Soz … Continued

Yes, I know: it’s another Banded Demoiselle. But I only kept five photos from today, and three of them were of this handsome  young chap. And pretty soon they’ll be gone, and then you’ll have months of me photographing my … Continued