Thankful Thursday

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Peacock Butterfly

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Speckled Wood Butterfly

Large White Butterfly

Thankful Thursday: Red Admiral Butterfly

Today, like a lot of my days, has been a Good Day if a tad phrenetic at times.  It's now 2230 and I'm going to finish this and go to sleep ready for an 0500 start and a three-day drive from one end of the country to the other.  I'm taking Anna home to Glasgow, picking up CJ on the Wirral and going to visit his Daughter-who-takes-photos and Son-in-law-who-loves-otters.  It should be an enjoyable and exciting 10 days.  

Earlier this week Anna and I were sitting in the sun in the garden having our morning coffee (didn't you just want that detail?) when a Red Admiral landed on the hebes.  I'm not sure how often I've seen Red Admirals in the garden but they are not frequent visitors and, as I've never blogged on them here in Eagleton, presumably I've never photographed one since I started the blog.  I managed a lot of shots of this one, some of which were useable:

So today I am thankful for the opportunity to sit and watch the world which, in turn, gives me the opportunity to see and photograph such wonderful creatures.

Butterflies

I went for another cycle ride this afternoon.  Just a short one.  It was 42℃ on the terrace at Maumulon this afternoon.  A record high for this time in September over the last 12 years that John has been taking temperatures.  So I cycled down the lane.  Having spent half the day chasing a Red Admiral on the Sedum in the garden I discovered a wild Sedum out in the countryside.  It was covered in bees, hover flies, things I couldn't identify and butterflies: Small Copper (to quote Adrian 'I hope'), Red Admirals and Peacocks in particular.  Having posted a Peacock already here's the other two:

Red Admiral

Small Copper

Peacock Butterfly

This afternoon there was a Peacock Butterfly Inachis io on the Sedum.

A Walk in the Country

This time yesterday (Thursday about 4pm) I was out for a walk down the lane at Maumulon. It was hot but quite bearable. Today it would be quite out of the question. In fact it is so hot that, even sitting reading in the shade, I have decided that a few minutes in the house doing a posting will cool me down a bit. This is not, you understand, any sort of complaint.

The walk was fascinating in that I usually cycle this lane and therefore don't stop to look at the nature around me. The first thing that struck me was the many many hundreds of little butterflies everywhere - almost all of a similar marking though some were cabbage white size and some much smaller. I did see a small blueish one and a very large one that actually stopped in front of me for exactly the amount of time it took my camera to decide to hibernate and then come out of hibernation. It (the butterfly, you understand) flew off as I was ready to take the photo. I have no insect books here but I think I'll remember it.

Unlike CJ's or Helen's postings this one will have no names against most of the flora and fauna 'cos I have no reference books here and have no internal hard drive memory for these things.

Anyway I hope that you will enjoy my walk as we go along the lane:

The start

Bullrushes - memories of childhood. I've loved them ever since

We had them in a vase at home when I was wee.

It's a long lane - fortunately shaded

"I trust you are not coming in my field"

You never know what's on the other side of the hedge

No idea

A wild bee ? on clover

Hot out here

Wilder than Helen and Ian's garden but still teasels

Is it really this long?

It's cornflower blue but ??

??

I coud have had enough for jam for a decade

No I don't think hip gin would be nice and I could find no sloes

??

One of a thousand

Some sort of growth on the roses?