Birthday hound...

For once the sun was shining, and we thought that Ben may have been blessed to have his birthday on a very atypical day for summer 2012. Unfortunately, because there have been so few fine days this summer, Alex and Pete had to work, so in the morning I took them to Woodwalton Fen, and then went off to Holme Fen to walk the dogs.

It was hot! And the air was filled with butterflies - ringlets, meadow browns, large skippers, a comma and lots of red admirals - it was like something out of a fairy tale! Gemma enjoyed the walk, although the unsuspected heat was a bit tiring for her (being a dog of mature years), but I took this smiling portrait to put on Ben's birthday card.

Unfortunately the glorious morning was replaced by an afternoon of thundery downpours which meant that I couldn't cut the grass. But they had cleared by the evening and we had an excellent barbecue with a few close friends. Chris returned home from Sweden just after nine, so at least we were able to spend part of Ben's birthday as a complete family :)) A very happy day!