Dangling swamp lover...

I knew that photographic time would be limited today, so I took my macro lens out into the garden first thing this morning to see what I could find. I'm always amazed by how much more one sees with a camera - amongst the commoner garden residents I spotted and photographed a hoverfly that we've not previously recorded.

But my favourite image was this Helophilus pendulus hoverfly, basking in the sunshine on some geranium leaves, just showing the first tinges of autumn colour. This species is often found around wetlands and its scientific name literally means 'dangling swamp lover' from the Greek helos, "marsh, swamp", -phil, "love", Latin pend-, "hang"). It's quite a large, brightly coloured species and has a characteristic vertically striped thorax, making it look a bit like it's wearing a rugby shirt.

After baking a batch of scones, the afternoon was spent catching up with two home-educating friends . It was great to have some time out and to discuss all manner of things with like-minded people. We really set the world to rights! And Alex and Ben had great fun outside in the sunshine with their friends. Before we knew it, it was 6.30 and time to come home to cook dinner. A really lovely day...