Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home

Mount Ainslie has fine views of Canberra but it hasn’t much else to commend it. At the top of the hill there is an ugly cement air beacon, inevitably covered in graffiti. As we approached the beacon we became aware that the air was thick with flying bodies. The stair rails heaved under our hands and the ground crunched under our feet. Thousands and thousands of little bodies were piled around the base of the beacon (extra). Orange and black spotted ladybirds were clinging to our clothes, our hair, our skin. Brushing ourselves vigorously, we retreated to the car to remove the ones that were inside our clothes.
 
My friend Dr Google tells me that ladybirds sometimes swarm as the weather turns cooler, as they look for a warm place to spend the winter. Well maybe, but it’s still very hot in Canberra, and anyway why on Mount Ainslie? Interestingly, Dr Google also told me there were similar ladybird invasions on Mt Ainslie in 2008 and 2010. One of life's little mysteries.

We spent most of today watching the inauguration. Another frabjous day indeed.