The conductor

The concert hall was buzzing with excitement as Bernard Flytink prepared to conduct the Flyght of the Bumblebee.

Not a bee of course, but a hoverfly, and I need to spend some time with my new identification book working out which one it was (postscript: probably Helophilus pendulus). But it did have a thorax that looked very like a stripy humbug. Note also that the bracken is giving this an almost autumnal look.

And this evening as we walked along the estuary with Gus, there was a distinctly late Summer feel to the air with the strong breeze and racing clouds. The garden was full of cabbage whites feeding on the scabious, and I treated the lawn to its first cut of the year. It looks tidier now, but there are fewer hiding places for Reg.