Large red damselfly

Tried to beat the heat by tackling the fence panel replacement tasks early this morning. We did another three today - and managed a long chat with our neighbour while we had a panel missing in the 6ft fence. (I seem to remember a Robert Frost poem from school - good fences make good neighbours....). Nice to talk to her rather than just wave as we all head out for work in the mornings.

Next step will be emptying shed, demolishing shed, replacing fence panel and then erecting new shed......we do have another lot of bank holidays next week thank goodness!

We were working very close to our leaking pond. The water level is very low and the balance of plants is not right anymore but it is still full of tadpoles and this red damselfly was happy to sit on the irises for a while. We also disturbed a few frogs. Apparently this is one of the first damselflies to emerge in the spring. We have had huge numbers of damselfly larvae in the pond in the past. Restoring the pond to its former glory is another pending task. I'm adding a watering can of water to the pond each day while it is hot so that the tadpoles don't dry out.

Quick trip to town to sort out shorts for number one son and have just walked back. Duckings on the river, lots of punters in the canal side pubs. Very hot, almost like a summer day.