Beautiful visitor yesterday

Beautiful capture Janey :)

That’s a smashing pic, Janey!

brilliant pic. they are wonderful aren't they?

I haven't seen one of these in a while. Can you believe they fly up from the Caribbean Islands? What a journey!

How lovely. They like the sedums. I noticed my sedums are nearly out now. Let's hope we get a few more butterflies. Hardly seen any here.

Great photo, Janey, lots of white Butterflies in my garden, but nothing as pretty as this!

Thanks Paul, Sheila and Kate..he wasn't around yesterday when it was so sunny, I thought that was odd..

They are Sbg, I've seen so many tortoiseshells, it must be a year for them..:) I've seen them rest behind the old ivy stems..

Do they Paul, goodness that is a long way to travel for a small pair of wings!

Yes, let's hope so Linda. The sedums are colouring up now aren't they.. I've two budlieas
and they're loving those..:)

;Theyre here too Shirley, laying their eggs on anything.. I think of them as slugs of the butterfly world!

Janey, slugs is a swear word for me right now! This morning I could see one slithering across the garden path, went out with a trowel to dispatch it to the brown bin. Then I thought I'd take a look under the Catmint, lo and behold, four more slugs and a snail, yuk! Methinks a few slug pellets will be put under it this evening.

Me thinks you be right our Shirley!
I used to love snails as a child, I even had a pet snail called Sammy in a mouse box that I would feed with ant eggs. Carnivorous snail!
I scooped up a great long slug the other night, creamy brown with orange edges, yak...into the bin it went. By the time it went in it had shrunk to a quarter of it's size....
You do realise we will be getting shredded slug and snail in our compost!

I have never bought so-called soil conditioner from the Council . . . when I think of the stuff I put in my bin . . . multiply that by hundreds of others . . . :o((

I haven't seen may butterflies around this year.Though as I'm (trying) to grow single flowered Nasturtiums on the balcony this year I've noticed a lot of visitors (I expect you've guessed what!) on them. Not that I'm the least bit surprised, mind you! But what I didn't expect was that they'd just leave the leaf stalks on the poor plants! But even so they are flowering!

When our youngest son went on holiday a couple of week ago he asked me to water his plants. The first day there I saw a butterfly I'd never seen before on his Buddleia bush. I think I've identified it as 'Gatekeeper'. The next day I saw a couple of them. Then the last day I went up it was a hot, sunny day & I saw lots of 'Tortoise Shells' on the bush. As I returned back home I kept on seeing more of them. Then I round a hedge & there were lots of them on a Buddleia, I'd never seen so many butterflies on one bush before!!!

What a lovely Photo,Janey,it shows up so well on your plant too.We have hardly seen any Butterflies of any description this year,not even on the Buddleia ,which is still in flower.. Maybe they have gone off our area of W.Yorkshire ! xx

That's a lovely photo Janey , we only have the odd one in our garden . we went to a nature reserve on the broads a few weeks ago with our friends and were so lucky to witness Swallowtails they were flitting about in the sun's rays between trees we stood still watching them for ages ... I tried to take a photo , but they wouldn't keep still :o( x

Sorry it's been a few days since I've looked in..

No Shirley, me neither. And into my bin today have gone 2 more of the very large cream.slugs...ugh!

Oh Balc, and tasty fodder for them too:(( and maybe black fly too? They always seem.to gravitate to Nasturtiums.
That's good that you've so many butterflies enjoying the buddleias, the Gatekeeper is an unusual one to have, how lovely to see it!
I know what you mean about the Tortoiseshells too, in the churchyard across from me the buddies there had so.many. it must be a summer for them. I Wonder where they go when is cold and grey....like today?

Maybe they're fed up of wearing their masks Sandra and they've gone on holiday..haha..

Thanks Amy, it's been lovely this week hasn't it, so the butterflies here have really enjoyed the sunshine. Ooh swallowtails, what a sight that must be, how beautiful!

Janey, I think this year has been about the worst for slugs and snails I have ever known . . . :o(

Really Shirley ? We seem to have had very few of either,to be honest,which has surprised me. I think it could be that most of my border plants are not to their taste,chosen over the years,with that in mind,and they don't seem to like to make the journey to my pots on the Gravel..or could it be me,they don't like,because I'm always out there ..searching ! . I can just imagine the conversation..'Hey up ,lads.she's here again,get a move on '..oh,you can't can you ' ? tough ! ' Sorry,I'm having a silly Monday..must be the 10 degree temps today !:o(

Blimey Sandra, what have you eaten today? It seems to have affected your thinking!!

I have found Snails clinging on to the garden fence behind shrubs, slugs lurking under the Catmint, slugs slithering across the path early morning . . . I was beginning to think they were the 'stoic' ones from Yorkshire! Sorry, seen too many hospital progs from 'oop North where the folk are all 'stoic' . . . :o)) x

Gosh we've got all the Yorkshire ones then Shirley!
Those massive cream ones I lobbed in the bin definitely have attitude. I opened the lid today to pop in a few leaf stripped dahlias stems and there they both were, nicely enjoying the free food and not having to slide for it..."oh here she comes with more tidbits", raising their black eyes and antennae, "please replace the lid, we do love to munch in darkness".
I reckon these have slid from Leeds or Halifax!...:))

Oh, Janey, they really are revolting things! I wish the bids would find them before I do . . . but we never seem to have Blackbirds or Thrushes in the garden these days. I wonder if the Magpies and Crows that have appeared are the reason?

Well the size of these Shirley, the garden birds would definitely choke!
I've had blackbirds here, bringing up their young on my pond snails...(you just can't win!)
I've been lucky that there's been baby Wrens and now the Robins are singing..
I've lots of overgrown shrubs down the garden and the Tamarix is more like a triffid..so places for them.to hide.
Shirley there are a pair of Buzzards that often circle above the garden, then the Crows really start, dive bombing and chasing them away.
So many Jackdaws here as they collect on the church tower about 4pm every day, before they fly off to roost.

Buzzards and Jackdaws eh? They must be a lovely sight for you, and Robins and Wrens, how lovely.

Since I stopped putting any leftover bread out, only for the whopping great Seagulls and Pigeons to eat, not the smaller birds I would prefer, I actually saw a Blackbird having a lovely splash in the bird bath. They used to visit often, not so much these days. Goldfinches visit for the Sunflower hearts and they are a delight to see . . . :o)

That must be an eerie sight Janey - the jackdaws massing on the church tower. Sounds like that Hitchcock movie, The Birds. The crows here do that too. I've seen them 'gang up' on the hawks and hustle them out of town - never to return.