The wonder of a miserable summer

Best viewed *large* oh so much better...

The macro came into it's own today, there is no post edit on this photo, this is all camera work, the camera itself is a mini photoshop if you want to manipulate the settings, which I do... & it works too & I don't feel guilty of changing the image on the camera once uploaded... This is the large resident skipper, enjoying the first sunshine of it's life probably, although, the sunshine promised was in short supply, more cloud & wind, the warm sunshine! It was feeding on a spear thistle, possibly the most overlooked wildflowers... they're a bonus to have growing, like the dandelions people hate so much & perceive as weeds, but keep the dandelions, keep the thistles, insects love them & you could be lucky & attract several species of butterfly!!!

As for Larry, well:

The real Larry

Went to our local RHS gardens at Rosemoor today & bought an orange daisy type flower (orange for Holland, as my mummy was Dutch) & a white cosmos, including a terracotta pot for my mum's grave. It looks beautiful & I felt that mum was standing behind me, approving at the choice... it's strange, as when I feel she's behind me, to the side, with me, she's never alone, she always has a cat beside her & it's almost always 'Pepper' or *Sgt Pepper* as my parents called him when they adopted him in 1967 when The Beatles released their iconic album, he was a seal point siamese & possibly the most charismatic cat you'd ever meet... considering my first word when little was 'Pepper' & not 'mummy' or 'daddy'. Anyway, at the mass yesterday, she was standing by the alter with Pepper in her arms, smiling. xxx