At last, a butterfly!

I've been trying to spot butterflies for the Big Butterfly Count for several days now: our buddleia is in full bloom and would normally be covered with colourful butterflies, but this year I've only seen one or two in each of my fifteen minute observation periods, whites and meadow browns. This afternoon the forecast rain just missed us, passing to either side, and I walked up the hill, for the first time in several weeks. It was lovely to see the lots of new flowers in bloom and the changing colours of the meadows, though it was very overcast and too windy for good close-up photos. Then, as I reached the brow of the hill, I was suddenly surrounded by a cloud of butterflies, lots of meadow browns and a few gatekeepers, all feasting on a hedgerow covered with brambles in bloom. They were quick and restless and mostly evaded my attempts to get close enough for photos, but I was delighted to find them and take my first butterfly photo this year.

Earlier in the afternoon I enjoyed a half hour chat with a friend on Zoom over a bit of knitting; I'm itching to continue sewing my top, but didn't have time today. I've also helped J to finish some digital art which we hope will form backgrounds for her current small animation project; this will be part of a group animation being produced at her care centre. Next we need to animate the foreground on greenscreen, and I hope she/we can then manage to edit the layers together successfully.