Bee on poppy

A stray Common Poppy has sprung up in a crack between two paving slabs, and its flowers are perfectly positioned to catch the morning sun. Today it was humming with bees and hoverflies, all keen to gather nectar and pollen. I took quite a few shots, but this was my favourite, as the buff-tailed bumblebee almost seems to have melded itself perfectly into the corona of anthers.

The rest of the day was spent shopping and cooking for a celebration barbecue. We weren't really sure how many people would come along, as somehow nearly all the potential guests were away this weekend. In the end it was a small but very jolly affair, helped no doubt by copious quantities of Pimm's!