Camouflage

Two bug photos in a row! I don't suppose that will ever happen again (yesterday's got into the spotlight, to my surprise). We had a barbecue in the garden for lunch, and this enormous dragonfly was hanging quite motionless on a bush, so I had plenty of time to photograph it. But it was really difficult to focus on it, or even see it clearly, because of the variegated background. I tried every which way, including manual focus, and didn't think I'd succeeded, so I was surprised when I found that two of the photos were quite sharp. Although they do demonstrate the visibility problem -- you'll need to look large to see its particularly beautiful gold-tinged translucent wings. I think fairies' wings must be like these. With the help of Mr Google I decided it was a female Emperor.

I was up bright and early today, so I got the croissant dough I made yesterday out of the fridge where it had been resting overnight and set to. The dough looked and felt really good, so I had high hopes, but the result was a bit of a disappointment. Although they looked convincing, they were quite heavy and the crust was chewy rather than flaky. I think I didn't let them rise long enough because I was worried the butter would get too soft. Still, I froze some of them unbaked, so I can test this theory with another batch. No-one said making croissants was easy!