Butterflies...

This time I'm talking about the real type Butterflies, not the tummy type...

My office window looks out onto the side of the house and over the years a buddleia bush has grown. Every spring it gets cut back, and each summer it grows huge and produces long purple flower spikes.

The last few summers there have been very few butterflies to use it, but this year WOW.

I've seen anything from 7-10 of them on the flowers at the same time- all bar one, are Peacock's.

Now it's also started to get a few bees feeding on the flowers too.

So I took a few pictures. Surprisingly I was able to get quite close up to them, but they were so intent on feeding that I think they weren't bothered I was there.

The one on the right kept folding it's wings up as it moved around, and it took a couple of attempts to get it with its wings open.

The second picture required some contortion, ducking under the branches to get in the right position...

Some of the flowers had two or three butterflies on them at a time. This one had had a third one, but it flew up onto one of the other flowers just as I got into position for the picture, so I only got two of them together...


It's been fascinating to look up and see them climbing around, folding their wings together against a rush of wind that has the flower spikes bobbing up and down as they hold on...



Hopefully the good summer will ensure we have plenty of butterflies next year.

Have you noticed an increase in butterflies where you live, or any colourful insects?

Logged in at last!!!

I couldn't get into my blog at the weekend.

Now I had changed my password a few weeks before but had no problem remembering it, except suddenly it was gone.

Tried every password that I'd ever used on the blog sign-in, but it wasn't any of them.

Then with my OH being home and starting the sorting and reorganising that had to be put off when I had the accident 2+ years ago, I've only today had the time and quiet to use the speedy verification code system.

Had to do it twice to get it to work properly, but I'm now signed back in and can start posting again.

I'm glad to be back...