Queen Anne's Lace

During the current lockdown the garden has become the focus of my life - I've never been so glad that we have a wide range of native plants in it, which in turn attract a variety of insects and other wildlife. At this time of year the Cow Parsley is flowering in the orchard - it's one of the most under-rated species, and although it's very common its individual flowerheads are beautiful, well deserving of the prettier common name of Queen Anne's Lace. It's also an important nectar source for many short-tongued pollinators including hoverflies and beetles. This Humming Syrphus Syrphus ribesii spent a long time enjoying it's meal, completely undeterred by my presence.

In the evening I had a short walk round Thorpe Wood, where the Bluebells were in full flower, and the foliage of the oak trees was that intense bright acid-green that only lasts for a few days. As I was leaving, I met another photographer who'd just dropped in to see if the Bluebells were out. He was a very interesting character who spent part of each year in Sweden and we had a long chat, standing at an appropriate distance of course!