Red eyes...

Most of today has been grey and blowy again - not ideal for photography. I dropped Pete off at one of his survey sites first thing this morning, then went on to Barnack Hills and Holes to see if there was any sign of the man orchids. There's been so little rain this spring that the grass has hardly grown at all, and I couldn't find any evidence of any species of orchid. The only flowers that were out belonged to ground hugging species - purple milk-vetch, horseshoe vetch, common rock-rose and mouse-ear hawkweed. I was somewhat surprised to see a number of pasque flowers freshly out - they seem to have had a very protracted season this year. Butterflies were also sparse, though I did see the occasional common blue and brown argus whisk past!

So it was home to see what I could find in the garden. The damselflies around the pond were mostly sheltering in the clumps of sedge. Blue-tailed and azure damselflies were flighty and wouldn't stay still for a photograph. But then I spied this large red damselfly, sitting on a royal fern frond. I approached cautiously, but it seemed unperturbed by camera and flash and stayed still while I took its portrait. Actually I think it was just too cold to move!