Rest and recovery...

Thanks for all the lovely comments on yesterday's sunset. It certainly was a challenging day! Alex and I have been having a day of rest and recovery today, and I'm sure we'll soon both be right as rain. My wasp stings were still hot and throbbing this afternoon, so I finally resorted to an oral antihistamine which seems to have helped a lot.

The great willowherb is now seeding along the riverside path, and this was my main photographic subject today. I dithered about which version to post, but Alex liked this one best. I love colour, but I do think black and white is excellent for highlighting structure, and here it emphasises the hairs that help the seeds drift and disperse so effectively.

Towards the end of my walk I saw a large, apparently black and white butterfly flying strongly around the tops of the trees. It wasn't a species that I recognised at all, and when I described it to Pete he thought it might be a Camberwell Beauty. Unfortunately I didn't get a good enough view to be sure, but in some years there are quite a few sightings of this migrant, which originates in Scandinavia, and most are seen in eastern England in August and September. Some also get released by people who breed butterflies. It often frequents the same area so I may have to go back tomorrow morning on the offchance of a better sighting...