As proud as a peacock

We live next to a wood, and on the edge of the wood are lots of nettles - these are fantastic for attracting wildlife. I've also seen loads of recipes for using young nettles, and every year I think "I must try that" but so far haven't managed to. By the time I remember to go and pick some to cook, they are no longer young.
So I have to go to the shops to buy our vegetables - and yes, you've guessed it - I get stung every time.

These peacock butterflies depend on nettles. The eggs are laid on the tips of nettle leaves, and then the caterpillars feed on the young leaves - that could have been feeding us. The caterpillars then leave the nettles in order to pupate under trees and vegetation, and then it starts all over again - back to the nettles.

I had just arrived back home after an extremely long and leisurely and lovely lunch with a group of girls, in order to celebrate Technophobe's forthcoming "blippety blip" birthday. The sun was shining, and it was the perfect opportunity to sit in the garden for a few minutes. This peacock butterfly was sunbathing on a patch of grasses near to some nettles, and settled just long enough to let me take a couple of shots. I then zoomed in a bit more - and he'd gone.