Common Blue

Alex and I were working down in Kent again today -  four hours of driving and seven hours of solid walking made for a pretty tiring day. 

When we arrived it was raining, which was not mentioned in the weather forecast, but it soon cleared and ended up being really rather hot and sticky, particularly when we were working on the steep slopes. 

I managed to go flying head first down a slope, when an old bramble stem got wrapped round my ankle like a trip-wire. Fortunately I wasn't hurt, but as my head ended up lower than my feet, and I had a rucksack and two cameras wrapped round me, I was temporarily stuck like a beetle on its back. I'm just glad Alex didn't get his phone out and capture my very inelegant pose and the convolutions required for me to get upright again!

The common blue butterflies are now on the wing, still very fresh and bright. The males were dazzling but wary, but this female allowed me to get a couple of shots before she flew away. 

We splashed out on a Chinese Meal to celebrate the end of the week, which had been fairly exhausting for everyone!