Back to the reserves

In reality, it was only a few short weeks and to be honest, I was happy enough at home during the first part of lockdown. My husband was working from home and we still had plenty to do. On a normal weekday, it would take us five hours to do the animals – three in the morning and two in the evening. Of course, I could spend as much time as I liked in our half-acre of garden and two acres of fields. I had a lot of fun patrolling our boundaries for various bugs. I felt for the poor souls locked up in flats though. No gardens to enjoy and maybe two or three bored children to entertain. Although I appreciated the relaxation of some rules, I hoped they had even more benefits from being allowed out anywhere to exercise. Golf was allowed. Fishing too and so I scanned the internet for reserves that were open. Many said they were, but their car parks remained stubbornly shut. I started a list in OneNote and to this day, some are open to pedestrian access only. Meaning they are still closed.

I knew of one reserve that wouldn’t be a problem. There is only room for up to six cars and even on the busiest day, I have never seen more than a handful of people in the woods. It was an hour’s drive though and as I made my way there on nearly empty roads, it felt strange. I’ve always loved the freedom to drive wherever I want, but this felt very special indeed. There were three other vehicles parked up when I arrived and I must have met all the occupants at once in a distant clearing. They too had made the journey to see the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly. We stood and chatted for a while, all the time keeping several metres apart. Then we went our separate ways and I never saw another person all day.

I managed to get the image featured above as one tiny butterfly rested for a while near the ground. However, for me, the highlight of the day was a stunning yellow goldenrod crab spider. I spotted her from a fair distance, but as she crossed the path on a silken thread, the backlighting made her almost impossible to miss. She climbed up a dried stem and I had the pleasure of photographing her for a good ten minutes. At one point she spread her front legs as she waited for unsuspecting prey to land within grabbing distance.

An interesting fact. Female crab spiders are able to change their body colour to match the background. It can take a few days, but they may appear white, yellow or green.

I was also lucky enough to capture another Duke of Burgundy butterfly on a pretty lady orchid.