Damselday

Azure Damselflies


Large Red Damselflies

Today I had the intention of mowing the lawn, planting some vegetables and doing some weeding. I managed to get the runner beans and courgettes sorted out, but didn't have much success with the rest.

Why not? Well, it's warm (21 degrees!) and humid, which makes gardening hard work. And loads of things kept appearing and making me get my camera.

First, a Common Blue butterfly, but that had disappeared by the time I returned with the camera. Next, an Orange-tip (which didn't stop) and a series of Painted Ladies which kept on migrating north.

On the pond it was damselfly day. The number of Azure Damselflies reached 9, but only a few lucky males seemed to have females attached (literally) to them. A couple of pairs of Large Red Damselflies were egg-laying.

It's been good to see that the male Whitethroat seems to have found a mate, who spends her time creeping about in the cow parsley around the edge of the garden (glad I didn't chop it). And a female Yellow Wagtail came to have a bath in the pond. She liked it so much she came back for another dip.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM