Snappy

Today’s picture was sent to me by Bruce who spotted this ruddy darter at Threave.

I did some darting myself this morning in company with Dropscone, as we nipped round the morning run in good style in spite of some moaning about bad backs from one of the pedallers.  It was another lovely day with very light winds so I was pleased to be able to take  advantage of it.  Dropscone politely started at a steady pace so I could get well warmed up before putting the foot down.

After coffee and scones, I felt confident enough to get the lawn mower out and mow the middle lawn. As the grass was short enough not to need the box on the mower, it wasn’t very hard work and my confidence was justified as I managed it without trouble.

I also walked round the flowers.

A delightful light orange Icelandic poppy has appeared.

And the Shirley poppies keep on giving

The garden is full of white butterflies but they are very fidgety and it is rare that one presents a good photo opportunity.

They are not necessarily as white as they look when flying.

Mrs Tootlepedal was out all morning.  After a choir practise at the church, she made her way to the Castleholm and helped out at an archaeological session at the castle there.  They are not actually digging but using one of the clever machines that can ‘see’ underground for a survey.

She came home for lunch and as Sandy arrived after lunch, he and I decided to go across and take some photographs to record the scene.

They are surveying the ground round the castle.

Volunteers with the resistivity machine

Mrs Tootlepedal in a special archaeology hat talks to the visiting expert

Two other men were doing obscure things in some long grass nearby.

Mrs Tootlepedal’s work consisted of moving the ropes which marked the areas to be surveyed by the machine.  This was hard and continuous work and as it was very warm as well,  she was quite pleased to get a sit down at the end of the day.

Sandy and I moved on after a while and we drove down to the Tarras and went for a very short walk  along the banks of the river.  By coincidence another white butterfly posed for me there.

In order to keep my back in order, we went only a short distance and the track was lined for most of the way by thistles and rosebay willowherb.  This is the season of seed.

Thistledown going up

Sandy was driving and kindly agreed to my suggestion of a cross country route home.  We stopped to take pictures whenever the fancy took us.  Here a few of the ones that I took.

It was a perfect afternoon for standing out in the country looking around but a bit too hazy for distant photography.

We were having a cup of tea and a dainty biscuit after we got back when we were visited by Dr Tinker, who advised me to go at once and look at his buddleia if I wanted to see some colourful butterflies.  When Sandy left, I trotted  obediently round.  He was right of course, as doctors always are.

Dr Tinker’s butterfly farm.  There were peacocks and tortoiseshells on every twig

As you can see, one was colour co-ordinating on a neighbouring flower.

I was so uplifted by this that I mowed the front lawn when I got home.  The warm weather of the last few days has brought the lawns on very well and they are looking as good as they ever will at the moment.  It is sad to think of all the moss that is lurking, waiting for the cold, wet, winter weather to come.

I hadn’t had time during the day to catch a flying bird so I went out with camera in hand to see what I could do.  Of course, the first thing that I saw was a peacock butterfly in my own garden.  The phlox was its target.

My flute pupil Luke came in the evening and I was feeling confident enough in his ability and capacity to practise to be slightly severe about his need to practise with great discipline at all times.  It is the key to progress because otherwise you just tend to practise your mistakes in.  We have reached a certain level and the next step will take some really hard work.  I am sure that he can do it.

I did manage to catch a flying bird along with the butterfly.  It is a flying sparrow.