Wednesday, July 01, 2020

Lockdown Diary: Wednesday, 1.7.20

After all the shenanigans of yesterday evening, today was an altogether quieter affair. I did a bit of pootling in the garden (not in the hard work sense, just in the wandering around sipping tea, sense, and the odd sit down). The Swifts are still screaming overhead (there has been a considerable outpouring of Swifts from the UK in the last few days, apparently, but we seem immune at present) and it seems that we have a new family of young Dunnocks hanging about, judging by the calls I am hearing from various bushes.
The highlight, though, was the presence of a couple of Red Admirals. Good butterflies in themselves, but one in particular seems a friendly fellow. My dear wife Jo told me in the evening that it had been returning again and again to perch on the book she was reading. As it happens, I was about to tell her that I had been visited several times while sitting contemplating the Swifts overhead.
This particular insect liked to sit on my knee or even on the breast pocket of my shirt. It is a bit of a ‘lap butterfly’, I think.
No photos, but I may take a camera out to see if I can capture the butterfly-on-knee magic today. One thing having such a creature on your knee delivers is amazing close-up views. The sort of views which make you (or me at least) appreciate the small blue spots at rear edge of the hind wings, a little bit of exquisite beauty it is easy to forget…

No comments: