"The artist...is also a born adventurer. His explorations, unlike those of a tourist, are rewarded by the discovery of beauty spots unmentioned in the guide books, and with tireless curiosity and an exceptional proneness to wonderment, he will come upon objects of remarkable interest overlooked or even shunned by more disciplined observers."

Augustus John, R.A.




Sunday, 11 May 2008

Speckled Wood Butterfly


Not the first Butterfly I've seen this year, but certainly the first one we have had in the garden. I first saw it this morning resting on a Dandelion flower in the middle of the lawn. It then spent the rest of the afternoon around one patch of sunlit yellow flowers. It didn't appear to be feeding and spent most of the time resting on the leaves rather than on the flowers. It kept its wings closed and only opened them when about to fly. It seemed quite territorial, and when a second rather tatty looking Speckled Wood turned up it immediately drove the intruder away. It's quite a surprising turn up for the garden as we are some distance from any sort of woodland, but we have been seeing odd ones for the last couple of years.

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