The Ladybird

A week in and I'm really relaxing into retirement now.  My sister, niece and nephew came over and we had lunch out with Mum.  After they'd left, I rolled up my sleeves and got on with tidying up the front garden a bit.  It didn't get much attention last autumn, because visiting Dad in hospital was our priority then and we had little time for anything else.  The potted geraniums were a neglected eyesore, mostly brown and shrivelled.  It was very satisfying to get the old plants out and dig over the earth in the pots ready for new ones in a couple of weeks' time, once we're clear of the threat of morning frost.


As I was dragging the full garden waste bag back to the garage, I noticed this seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) crawling among the grass.  It's the ladybird of everyone's childhood, which most of us will have allowed to crawl along our fingers before they flew away home.