Red Admiral in the garden this afternoon

Where do all the butterflies go when it rains?

Well we had some sun this afternoon (followed by a heavy downpour) so this one was stocking up on nectar.  Unfortunately it’s been nibbled along the back of the wing and as the eye was so sharp I thought I’d opt for a crop.

I’ve been trimming under the lonisera bush to  try and defeat our neighbours cat who has been using it as a base to catch baby bluetits (I found one corpse) and while I was there I decided to give the whole bush a severe haircut, (a shame really as it was looking very good) as I want to dig a new flower bed in front of it.  I thought it would be easier to sweep up the clippings before I started digging.

However, I may have solved the cat problem with a fairly expensive sonic cat scarer that was approved by the RSPB.  I saw the cat walking across the grass and then suddenly he look surprised and walked off.   I haven’t seen him since.  Why didn’t I do this before as I’ve been talking about getting one for at least a month.  I was convinced it wouldn’t work (fingers crossed).