Wild

I thought it would be nice to finish June with some bug porn. Actually, as you may have noticed, I'll happily post bug porn any day of the year, but this is the month of #30dayswild, and a pair of Helophilus pendulus in flagrante seems to fit that tag pretty well. Had I known that they were so engrossed they would stay on this leaf while I homed in and recorded their passion from just a few inches away, I'd have trotted back to the house and fetched a tripod, which would have allowed a long exposure and a more sensible ISO - but you can't have everything.

Today's extra is a young fallow buck in velvet, and marks the extraordinary circumstance of R and I having gone out together, for the first time in over three months. The MX-5 was due at the garage for its annual service and MOT last month, which obviously couldn't happen during lockdown, but the garage having now reopened, I zoomed over to Coventry first thing this morning. R didn't want me to have to wait around there for three hours, so he drove over as well and collected me, and we went to Charlecote - our first National Trust visit since we went to Croome on 16th March.

It was strange having a timed ticket to get into a place we used to drop in and out of at will, and it was a rather limited visit, because only certain sections of the park are currently open: the deer became so used to having the entire site to themselves during lockdown that they're having to be reaccustomed to the public gradually. However, it was nice to be able to walk around the Front Park and down to the river (even though there was a disappointing dearth of dragons) - and we were able to buy takeaway coffees, which felt like a milestone in itself.

If I hadn't spotted these sun flies, today's blip would almost certainly have featured a gorgeous male Wool Carder that I photographed in the front garden this afternoon. It pains me a little to have to relegate him, but I have blipped a couple of these bees recently, so the bug porn won out, and the bee has been posted to Facebook, if you'd like to see him.

2020 birds:
88 House martin