Gatekeeper Challenge - August 2019

It was another grey muggy day for my photo shoot in dad's garden this weekend, and it was also rather windy. The weather had quite a marked effect on the visibility of the insect population, who were mostly hunkered down inside bushes and plants.

I was quite pleased to find this Gatekeeper Butterfly (Pyronia tithonus) peering out from inside a hedge, and obligingly staring straight down the camera lens!

Flesh Fly - August 2019

This Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga carnaria) was also keeping out of the gusting wind and wasn't phased by me poking my lens about inside the bush it was sheltering in.

Dahlia Worms - August 2019

I couldn't find any new blooms this week, but the existing ones were still looking lovely. This Dahlia was well staked, but was still moving about wildly as the wind caught hold of the leaves.

Coneflower Spikes - August 2019

The Coneflowers (Echinacea) were a bit more stable as they were in a sheltered spot.

Dandelion Like - August 2019

Being close to the ground, this Dandelion (Taraxacum) like bloom wasn't effected so much by the wind, so was a little easier to focus on...

Evening Primrose - August 2019

...unlike this Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) bloom which was swaying from side to side like a clock pendulum!

Behind the Beauty - August 2019

The Sunflower Helianthus 'Solar Flash' blooms were nearly finished for the year and had put on a wonderful display. They even looked quite attractive from the back.

New Beginnings - August 2019

There was also a rogue Sunflower growing in the garden, which I suspect had arrived via some bird seed that had been dropped from the beak of a hungry avian.

Brambles - August 2019

The Bramble (Rubus fruticosus) bushes continued to produce lots of fruit, but were a pain to eradicate as they seemed to be growing everywhere.

Quince - August 2019

A more welcome fruit was that of the Quince (Chaenomeles) bush, which had started to produce quite large fruits this year.

So this week I went with Gatekeeper Challenge as my Image of the Week mostly because it was a challenge to find it, and I was quite lucky to catch it staring down the lens of the camera...