Saxifrage and scorpion fly

After the morning downpours, I walked up the hill in fine drizzle. I didn't take my camera, but wished I had. I've always liked saxifrage, and this huge mound of it falling over a low wall at the entrance to a driveway echoed the white frothiness of the cow parsley opposite. The extra is an interesting looking and unfamiliar flying insect - at first glance I thought it was a moth, but it seems to be a scorpion fly (panorpa communis), with pretty black and silver wings and a red/orange tail. It's not perfectly focused, but I was reasonably pleased to get such close-up clarity with the phone. 

The rest of the day was filled with routine jobs and admin, but later I supported J with an early evening online poetry workshop. She's been to a few of these: it was run by an organisation providing support, networking and opportunities for disabled artists and creatives of all kinds, and was very gentle and supportive, with a series of little tasks pitched at a level she could engage with and made accessible by excellent BSL interpreters. We both enjoyed it, and I hope she'll follow up on some of the ideas she started to put together.