Comma

We should all know the Comma Butterfly, Polygonia c-album, in the UK and beyond. It's common name is given from a little white comma shape on the underside of it's wing. The ragged wings resemble dead autumn leaves. One reason for not tidying your gardens of all the leaves that fall from the trees, as indeed, the butterflies overwinter amongst them. Being too tidy denies these beautiful butterflies a place to hide from the cold.

They are one of the butterflies that also rely, not only but in great part, on nettles as a food plant for their young. Occasionally they like Elms, not that there are many of those in the UK today, hops and the odd currant bush. The little hairy caterpillars are also orange and brown with a white back and look very like bird droppings. Guess what their means of camouflage is? The pupa are quite difficult to find. They hang from the food plants looking like a drooping dead leaf.

So the moral of the story is, if you want to see a butterfly, respect the caterpillars. Leave them some dead leaves in the winter and food plants in the summer. It's simple!

I've brought out my 'buy of the month' to attack the garden, a new mower. I've also managed to wield it without doing to much any damage! The strimmer is dead so now looking to get another one as soon as... it's been an expensive month so will have to wait.

It's now also time to replace the polytunnel, which contains only nettles which are now 3 foot tall. I'll cut them at the base and put them amongst the patch I keep for wildlife.
The veggie garden contains tomato plants whose flowers won't come to anything so late in the year and a couple of indoor sown salad plants that the slugs have got the better of.
Apart from those it's a very sad affair of last years chicory and chard gone to seed, plenty of bindweed and some Ragwort which needs to be pulled immediately. Ok,I admit it. My ethics won't go as far as keeping the bindweed either!

Yeay it's Friday! I sleep in my own bed tonight! Where's that glass of wine?