Out of synch...

So there I am in just jeans and t-shirt, the Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the air is buzzing with sound insects going about their daily business. When is this? June? July? No it's the beginning of November, now put me in a dress and call me Susan but doesn't that seem a little strange to you? I spent the best part of Saturday afternoon in the garden, supposedly pulling out the last of the Summer bedding plants and planting some miniature Narcissus, but the bedding is still flowering just as well as it was a couple of months ago so I decided it can stay a little longer. The bulbs still needed to be planted though, so it was case of putting them in anywhere there was a gap where they aren't likely to be disturbed by future planting.

I even found time to wash and polished the car... now climate change is inevitable, lol.

A new toy

I'm just over half way through a two week break from work and I've done absolutely nothing apart from mow the lawn, and spend some money. Yep, I've been and got a new camera. I am now the proud (and very much broke!!) owner of a new Nikon D40. I only got the thing yesterday so I haven't really done much with it yet, still figuring out what all the buttons do, but the few shots I have taken look very impressive compared the compact I have been using upto now. If I can get through the long list of jobs my wife has left me to do in the next couple of days then I'm planning a couple of 'expeditions', to the dales and also maybe to the coast, to really see what it can do.

What I could really do with is a few lovely misty mornings. When the rising sun shines through the mist, spilling a rich golden light across the fields, I reckon my little corner of England is as beautiful as anywhere in the British Isles. The only problem at this time of the year is forcing myself out of bed early enough to appreciate it!

A welcome visitor

Compared to the rest of the week I've had a pretty easy day today. I manged to grab my camera and had a quick walk around the walled garden. In the walled garden we have a bed dedicated to several different types of Buddleia, at this time of year they are normally awash with butterflies and bees but today there was just a couple of Commas. I was about to head back when I caught a glimpse of something bright out of the corner of my eye. It was one of my favourite butterflies; the lovely sulphur-yellow Brimstone.

Although it is not especially unusual to see these in late August they are a much more common sight in early spring. They are one of the first butterflies to emerge from hibernation and can if the weather is mild enough can even be spotted as early as February. The males are often confused with the Large White as they are much paler and don't have the rich colouring of the females, being a more of creamy colour. They lay their eggs in spring, and are very choosy, only using a couple of species of Buckthorn. During the autumn the new adults will seek a place to hibernate, usually choosing nothing more protective than an evergreen shrub or tree. It is probably the hardiest, and certainly of the longest lived, of the butterflies indigenous to the UK, and can live for over a year.

What a week I've had so far, I don't seem to have had five minutes to myself, especially today. I did have a pleasant hour down by the lake yesterday though. I was pruning some low branches on the big Willows that grow along one bank, so that I don't have to duck so many times when I'm on the tractor cutting the grass, lol. We a have a small woodland area close by and taking a stroll through there, the air was simply buzzing with Dragonflies of all sizes and colours. In fact I don't recall ever seeing so many. If I can force myself out of bed I intend going into work a bit earlier than normal tomorrow, see if I can get a few photos. There have been some fantastic shots on Renderosity photography section just lately.