Sunday 23rd July 2017

I woke at half seven. I did wake at six and again at half six when Jools got up, but needed a few more minutes. This meant that I was already running behind in my chores for the morning. I say chores, anything but really, chasing butterflies and orchids.

Coffee is drunk, and I go out to look for Chalkhill Blues, whilst Jools stays behind to carry on painting the shed. This is beacuse rain was forecast in the afternoon, and she wanted to get it done. So she said she would pass on both butterflies and orchids. Can't understand it myself, of course.

There is no traffic about at all, and I am treated to a drive along Reach Road bathed in warm sunshine, and little breeze. I am heading for the National Trust's place, and just away from the upper overflow car park is Fox Hill Down, which should be full of Chalkhills. This is again the place where back in the day, Jools thought all Blues were Chalkhills. Not so, as since then we have seen: Holly Blue, Common Blue, Small Blue, Long Tailed Blue, Small Copper, Green Hairstreak, Adonis Blue. And Chalkhills.

Down below, ferries are coming and going, I snap them before turning my attention to the butterflies.

I saw a few Gatekeepers, now looking tatty as they receive damage from the wind up on the downs and cliffs, but I snap them as they were happy enough basking, and was like shooting fish in a barrel. I saw a blue, and follow it around, but as soon as it settled, and I moved in, it flew off, but I knew where there would be richer pickings.

Through the gate, and down to the left is a sheltered meadow, and with bushes sheltering it from the wind and being a natural sun trap, I should get shots here. I mean over the years I have got plenty of shots of them, but there is always the new combination of camera and lens which updates from time to time, and what with views of the harbour and to the castle and castle church to the south, there is plenty of other stuff to snap.

I quickly find a female in the grass, I get down and shoot her through the grass, not the best of shots, but I quite like it.

I walk round some more, and chase a few males, finally getting a couple, but not too close, anyway, I knew that with the sun getting warm, they would be getting ever more flighty, so decide to go with what I got, and would have gone home, but on the way thinking about the incoming rain, I thought I would go to Barham instead to snap the Violet Helleborines.

A speed down the A2, turning off at Black Robin Lane, and from the speed of the main road, quickly into the peace and quiet of the narrow lanes that lead to the beech wood. In parking, I manage not to run over two cyclists who were pondering whether to ride or walk up the bridleway; they decide to walk and push their offroad bikes, I am going to the other side of the road, carrying camera with macro lens and the big bad boy tripod, which I really must get used to.

I ten minute walk up the hill, along the wide path, and then following the path round and up, I come to the clump of Violets, and one of the seven spikes had begun to open. But due to the breeze, the shots I wanted, even with the tripod, didn't come out, lots of movement with the long exposures, so I will return next week. I did work out how to use the tripod, turn the post upside down, reposition the slider, and can get low down and close to anything now. But any insect seeing the set up will soon have escaped before I had a shot. Does for orchids though.

I go back home, struggle to get past the heavy traffic to the port, but home by ten or so, time to make more drinks and cook some TSP; thinly sliced pork. AKA, bacon.

Jools has done the shed, and it looks blue. Painting the boards alternate colours was going to be too difficult, so is now a uniform colour, but shapes may be painted on it later. Or some stencils.

We were going to visit the old folks, but turned out that we got wrapped up in our stuff, then had lunch, with wine and/or cider, and that meant we were going nowhere for a while. And at half three, it was time for the final stage of the 2017 Le Tour, live cruising through the Parisian suburbs before racing round the centre 8 times, getting faster and faster. I manage to stay away through the initial parts, then watching as the riders go round faster and faster.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jelltecks/36094063796/in/dateposted/ And then it was all over, Chris Froome the winner for the 4th time, and so came to the end of another memorable Tour.

And somehow we had come to the end of another weekend, Jools watched some new series with Sean Bean in as a vicar, and I did stuff on the interwebs. As you do. Outside it began to get dark, and was so by half nine, einter is coming, 5 months to mid-winter. Now there's a thought.