A pair of silver-washed fritillaries swooped back and forth along the hedge this afternoon. Maybe she was looking for somewhere to lay her eggs, maybe he was waiting for her to settle, maybe they were just wanting to put on a show. Seeing these large, graceful butterflies in flight moves me every time. Like seeing a hare, there’s something magical about it. I am miffed, though, that they didn’t show up yesterday when I was doing my detailed log of what I saw here. I also had my first sighting here this year of a small copper (unfortunately that wasn’t so obliging when I tried to take a photo). Hopefully, both will make themselves known to me on a ‘log day’.
We had a wonderful family gathering here this weekend. One daughter-in-law and two grandsons couldn’t join us and were sorely missed, but it was lovely to see the rest enjoying each other’s company and just being here so much. When you have five children, their spouses and 11 grandsons (aged 11 months to 16 years), you certainly need a lot of space for get-togethers. One of the four-year-olds joined me butterfly-spotting and was quickly picking up their names. I’ll have to get him helping me with the logs.
