Gatekeeper 2024

 At Exbury Gardens on Wednesday 10th July; and red admirals too.

Marbled White

Swarms of pale, scantily clad yoof heading for the beach in Bournemouth yesterday. A thinner, pinker trickle coming back the other way.

The sound of a distant moped resolved into a hornet flying through my bedroom window at 6am. Beautiful insect, which fortunately left voluntarily.

Small Copper

 I've just taken a second crop off the alpine strawberries. The garden is wild and my trousers are damp and covered in grass seed. Small bumble bees writhe in the glorious yellow stamens of St. John's Wort as though in ecstasy; the world is abuzz.

Meadow Brown

 As a child I imagined that when I was old enough to live on my own and do my own shopping I would have the opportunity to buy all those products with really interesting packaging that appeared just perfect for building space ships and alien weapons out of. Now I'm older I realise that life didn't turn out that way.

Small Blue

 A village donkey dropped its foal two hundred yards from my house on Thursday. I met it still shocked; slick with amneotic fluid, already on social media judging by the number of phones present. On my way back from the village, fifteen minutes later, it was trying to get up on its feet. Three legs went well, the fourth was still a hurdle. Mum encouraged it, carefully.

Peacock

After some roadworks outside my house this morning, I had to straighten a couple of the pictures that hang in the lounge this evening.

Brimstone

 Much to my surprise, I've agreed to buy my fourth home. After 29 years, time to move on.