Mumruffin

Mercifully the horrible heatwave ended in a violent storm this morning. Ollie dog and I got soaked to the skin on our early walk. I didn't dry my hair or take my wet tee shirt off when I came up to the house as it was keeping me cool. MrQ really struggles in the heat and I hate it. We were counting our blessings as the mercury fell.

I even took Ollie for a walk at Fishers Green after lunch, which we started in the rain. The young coots have got to the stage where their constant cheeping for food is driving the adults mad. I saw one parent set about a juvenile which has grown as big as its mother and father.

We've had all the doors and windows open because of the heat and have had some interesting visitors. Quite a few butterflies have flitted in and out and last night a beautiful oak eggar moth bumbled around for a while. This afternoon a brown shape flew in and I thought it was another butterfly or moth. It turned out to be a wren fledgling. It flew/scrambled under a piece of furniture which we moved and it disappeared. A couple of hours later it landed on the bookcase by the open door and then flew out. I was so relieved.

I heard a troupe of long-tailed tits in the garden and captured this messy but appealing juvenile with its red-rimmed eyes. :)