White Admiral

Six of us were brave enough to venture out on Bookham Commons on the hottest day of the year.  One extra large butterfly flew past, too quick to ID, but the group are happy that we might have seen an Emperor. Chances were as thin as finding rocking horse droppings but I'll go along with them. :)

One of the group emailed me excitedly, in the belief that I might have been mistaken and this could be a female Purple Emperor but, sadly, I had to tell her it was confirmed as being a White Admiral.  Not large enough for a start but still beautiful and it did prove to be a highlight of the day. 
Fascinating to watch, it defended it's territory from anything that moved, including a Dragonfly who's flight pattern took it straight through the centre and the occasional swoop towards a photographer.  
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Of course the Dragonflies and Damselflies were all out and everyone managed to get at least one good shot. My extra isn't the best of shots but I was amazed to see how many of these wonderful creatures could use a single stick as their own.  

It really was hot, for me a pleasure but not for everyone. The dogs are allowed in the clay thickened water of one pond and they weren't going to miss out.  Not the most savoury place to bathe, I'm sure, but who could deny them on a day like today.   We ambled rather than walked the route then decided it was time to go and have a sit down. Someone suggested the Medicine Garden which is close by and has more than one watering outlet. It's one of those centres that house a few artists, a lot of Annie Sloane painted junk that's on sale with a ridiculous price tag, and a few table fulls of herbal plants. Nothing unusual except for the inflated prices but the place is very pretty. We stopped to look in one of the artists holes. A local photographer has her prints for sale. The woman who was manning the fort told us she sold well. Her limited prints in frames selling for around £150.  Were they good? Well I have seen much better here on blipfoto from complete amateurs and the frames are bog standard! 

The ice creams, however, were selling like hotcakes and it made for the perfect to end our day.