Butterfly heaven

I was determined that today I would not walk anywhere. S got up at some early hour to walk up to meet his shepherd friend Musta on Mont Roig or thereabouts. G and A set off for a less challenging walk after breakfast, up to a viewpoint. And I determined to spend a quiet day at Bordes de Graus.

There can be few better places to have a quiet day on your own when it's a lovely sunny day. I chilled in the morning, with a short stroll and reading in the sunshine. G and A were back for lunch and we ate the residue of the pasta salad S had made to take with him. He sent me a Whatsapp photo from the top of Mont Roig that I would post as an extra if I thought the wifi would handle it.

In the afternoon I decided I really ought to get out for a bit of exercise, so I picked up the Olympus and took the path that crosses the river and goes to Noarre (left) and Tavascan (right). At this junction there is a grassy bank full of wild flowers that was alive with butterflies/moths. Most of them were fritillaries, but within a distance of 500 metres or so in either direction and with a bit of patience I saw eight different varieties. I will post the rest of them in my Flickr album when I can, but in the meantime, what is this one? It's not one I've ever seen before.

While I was taking 82 photos, maybe a dozen walkers passed me. Not a single one paused to see what I was looking at. You miss so much if you don't take the time to stand and stare.

In the evening we had our ritual G&T outside the bar, and then A cooked a tortilla which she claimed was a disaster ("Oh my God, it's burnt!") but turned out to be absolutely fine. Then despite earlier vows to be abstemious, we polished off a bottle of wine between the three of us while discussing Covid, Brexit, and disastrous job interviews.