Gatekeeper - July 2020

It was a rather warm still day for my photo shoot in dad's garden this week. In fact it felt as though there was going to be a torrential downpour at any moment. Thankfully, the rain held off while I was taking pictures, but it was a close run thing.

It was like the Butterflies had finally realised it was summertime in the last couple of weeks, with quite a few different species flitting about the garden. This Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) was kind enough to pose for a few shots for me, and proved to be an excellent model.

Honey Bee - July 2020

The Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) blooms proved popular with insects again this week, with a lot of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) stopping by for their pollen fix.

Small Fly - July 2020

There were swarms of these little Flies (Diptera) also hanging around the Sweet Peas, but none of them seemed interested in the pollen.

Squabble - July 2020

Meanwhile, pointing my lens skywards, a juvenile Magpie (Pica pica) and juvenile Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) squabbled about a prime place to perch!

Juvenile Goldfinch - July 2020

Unfortunately, the squabbling pair scared away a small group of young Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) that I was trying to capture on the same branch.

Crocosmia Detail - July 2020

Back on the ground, the Crocosmia 'Lucifer' (Crocosmia curtonus) was looking rather splendid...

Lacecap Hydrangea - July 2020

...as were the Lacecap Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) bush blooms and bracts.

Hypericum Blossom - July 2020

The Hypericum blossom was also in full swing now, and looked particularly pretty in the gloomy conditions.

Star Jasmine - July 2020

Wind and rain in recent days had seen off most of the Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) blooms, but there was still the odd one left to photograph.

Strange Bloomer - July 2020

The Honey Spurge (Euphorbia mellifera) bush must take the award for the strangest looking flowers - at least I think they're flowers!

Pears - July 2020

It was that time of the year when the Pear (Pyrus) trees were beginning to get quite a few pears growing amongst their branches.

Nuts - July 2020

Finally, there were a few Hazelnuts beginning to form on the Twisted Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') tree. Hopefully I'd get to photograph them again when they were ripe, unless the Squirrels found them first!

So this week I went with Gatekeeper as my Image of the Week, simply because it was my first encounter with the species this year...