Spot the ladybird!

Back to the same beach again today and - yes - I had my swim. Gorgeous. The water was so clear and calm and afterwards I sat on hot pebbles, leaning against a hot rock to dry off. Joy!

And then along came this ladybird, asking to be blipped!

There seems to be an abundance of ladybirds this summer. Dead-headed some giant daisies in my mother's front garden this evening, and ladybirds were emerging from each head I touched. Trust they're gobbling all the aphids.

And an update on our swallows: the swallow dad is still feeding the babies in the nest by our front door. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. It might seem silly when the whole village is swarming with a huge swallow population, but I felt so miserable when the mother died on the nest. Looks as if there will be a happy outcome for her babies.