Small Tortoiseshell

Day #2 of #30dayswild. A gentle couple of hours with Kathryn Parsons exploring Vergette's Meadow NR in the glorious morning sunshine set me up for a busy day. The golden heads of Rough Hawk's-beard contrasted beautifully with the Ox-eye Daisies, both attracting a range of hungry insects, including this Small Tortoiseshell and a female Brimstone who will appreciate the saplings of Alder Buckthorn growing in the adjacent wet woodland.


I was home by mid-morning, and then set to baking Flammkuchen, Vegetable Pizza and Red Onion and Goat's Cheese tart for out Platinum Jubilee Street Party. We were blessed with perfect weather and over sixty people attended for an afternoon of fine food followed by garden games including molki and badminton. Our twenty year old cat, Poppy, also joined in (see extra) and provided a source of great fascination for some of the tinier attendees, who'd never really had the chance to look closely at a cat, let alone stroke one - luckily she's very good-natured and lapped up all the attention. It was definitely a celebration of local community, much needed after the last two years, and we all agreed that we should get together more often!