Peaceful
“Just off down the garden to look for a photo,” I said. “I won’t be long, and I’ll finish off the casserole as soon as I get back.” I think R may have responded with a slight snort, but it’s … Continued
The morning after the night before
I was tired after running up and down the garden in the dark for an hour last night, photographing the emergence and eclosure of this female Southern Hawker, so I didn’t wake especially early. Luckily, when I did manage to haul … Continued
Southern Hawker factory
The tiny wildlife pond R dug out and installed for me as a Covid lockdown project – it’s maybe four feet by three, and about eighteen inches at its deepest point – has suddenly turned into a bit of a … Continued
Flower beetle
Having stomped in and mardily announced to R that I hated every photograph I took today, on closer examination I found that I actually like these two quite a lot. So much, in fact, that I couldn’t choose between them, … Continued
St Swithin’s Day
“Well, it is July,” I said to R, as we sat disconsolately over our coffee and biscuits, watching the rain beating down outside. “What can you expect?” He made a snorting noise that might just about have been interpretable as … Continued
Orange-vented Mason Bee
I found it very satisfying to step out of my front door this morning, take two steps across the lawn, and find this pretty female Orange-vented Mason Bee (Osmia leaiana) nectaring on the thistle I’ve left there. I wish I … Continued
Just a Gatekeeper
I was doing a bit of moderately enjoyable gardening this morning (thank you Stihl), when a small brown butterfly whizzed past me and disappeared over the wall into the next-door garden. Someone who’s been fooled* less often than I have … Continued
Pregnant pause
Halteres are the vestigial hind wings of flies, and are believed to act as balance organs. I’ve never found an explanation as to why in Melanostoma scalare they’re sometimes (though not always) green, but it’s a peculiarity that as far as … Continued
