Garden companions

No camera walk today.  Hazel and I had a short trot round by the park early on, then I got into the garden.  There, slightly to my surprise, I found a pair of gatekeeper butterflies flirting in the area I'm, er, just starting to turn into what I hope will be a miniature butterfly paradise.

My field guide tells me this is the male and that gatekeepers have a 'quite precise' flight period, from mid July to end of August  So the fact they haven't been here before today is no surprise.  I'd forgotten what small and vibrant little creatures they are.

Also today while I worked I had various conversations with the garden robin.  It was coming out of the shrubs, lying in the earth I'd disturbed digging out the box bushes yesterday and giving itself a dust bath while quite ignoring the new (water) birdbath I'd just rigged up.  Ah, well!

Have a lovely weekend, dear peeps  xx