Project 365 day 223: counting butterflies

The return of the sun has brought the butterflies out on the buddleia, so before lunch I snatched fifteen minutes to count (and photograph) them. The conditions were not ideal: it was very windy, the branches were whipping from side to side and the butterflies seemed to be fluttering to hang on. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the shots were nonetheless approximately in focus. I was pleased to see a painted lady, not a frequent visitor, and to record my first sighting of a brimstone in our garden, as well as the usual peacocks, red admirals and assorted whites. Unfortunately I subsequently discovered that this year's Big Butterfly Count ended on Sunday. 

It's been a more positive day. This morning J introduced the online Art Talk session for members of her care centre, showing them some of the work of abstract animator Norman McLaren. She loves abstract animation, it was entirely new to everyone else, and the reactions were a lot more positive than I anticipated. A lot of his short films are available on the excellent website of the National Film Board of Canada. She shared Begone Dull Care, Stars and Stripes, Lines Horizontal and Le Merle. She had worked hard to prepare her introduction and decide on films - everything is very slow using switch access and speaking with AAC, but she has learned patience and resilience. 

This afternoon I gritted my teeth and stripped all the green tomatoes from my outdoor plants. There was already significantly more visible damage from blight than yesterday, so it's definitely the right decision; I combined them with one of the oversized courgettes (marrows) to make chutney. Tomorrow my first job with be to remove and bag all the plants and add them to the bonfire.