Another day, another blog post, but in a way, nothing has changed. I’m in the study (obviously) and the wind has once again picked up outside. It reminds me of some lovely little details that I found during the summer.
The first was while I was waiting for the breeze to die down so I could photograph marbled white butterflies at a local park. The place is huge and it is shared with a golf course. Areas to the side of the fairways have been left and from the middle of June, they start to fill with wild flowers. There were certainly plenty of butterflies around, but they were all hidden in the long grass. Every once in a while one would put in an appearance, flutter a few yards and then dive down, taking cover from the wind. I decided to take a break and instead, climbed the hill at the back of the green and explored the far side of the park.
A short stroll through some woods led me to mown paths through yet more long grass. There were no butterflies this time, but I did note a sign warning people of beehives in the area. It was warm on top of the hill and as I strolled along looking for inspiration, I noticed a seed from a meadow salsify plant trapped in a spider’s web. I was fascinated, but naturally, it wasn’t going to be easy to photograph fluttering round in the breeze. I settled down and waited, eventually being rewarded with a brief lull, when I captured the images featured above and below.
Thinking it was a lucky find, I was amazed to spot a couple more examples later in the year. This time the fluffy seeds were thistledown, found in my favourite butterfly reserve.
