The Oak Eggar was the largest by some distance, and handsome too.
Back inside for more coffee and breakfast before work, knuckling down and starting to catch up with long overdue tasks.
I wish I could say it was a day full of excitement, but the sunshine came and went, but by mid-afternoon there was still sunshine in the moderate breeze to convince me I should go for a walk.
The hope was for Clouded Yellows in the fields of Lucerne at the end of the track, but it seems the harvester I heard over the weekend was gathering in the Lucerne, as all there was left was fields of grass, though the occasional plant at the field's edge.
I met Walter who was out getting some air too, and he asked my why I thought there were so few butterflies.A tricky question, and one that has vexed me for the past week, as the expected explosion in summer and second broods just have not produced the expected numbers seen. I have seen just a handful of Gatekeepers in our garden, a few Red Admirals, no Small Tortoiseshells, the most frequent have been Large Whites.
I said, I thought a combination of the pesticides farmers uses, a wet, warm winter and spring which has lead to plague-like numbers of slugs and snails.
Rain when caterpillars hatch could result in them being washed off by heavy rain in spring.One or all of these things.
But just a single Gatekeeper seen on my walk to Fleet House and back, the only highlight being the Greater Burdock now coming into flower.
Overdoing at the weekend meant I turned for home, and was back in time to pour a fine beer before preparing dinner.
I made wild salmon parcels, seasoned with lemon and dill, wrapped in puff pastry, along with the left over stir fry, some steamed corn and pesto pasta salad i made after pruning the basil.
Tasty.
And that was it for Wednesday. Darkness now falls before nine, on this, the 206th day of the year.
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