"Glory Be To God For Dappled Things"

Said Gerard Manley Hopkins in his poem Pied Beauty.

I am very fond of the speckled wood butterfly. It is one that my grandchildren will recognise. We used to go butterfly hunting when they were little. There's an area around a huge oak tree on our property where we would always find speckleds at this time of year. I used to hide (speckled) eggs and Easter treats in the ancient hedge amongst the wildflowers.

My speckled wood has settled briefly on stitchwort. It is unusual to see them photographed on flowers, they feed mainly on honeydew in the trees.