Flying Briefly

Got stuck into the decorating today. We'd bought paint a few weeks before the lockdown in anticipation, as it was going to get done sometime this year whatever happened. I'm not much of a self-starter though when it comes to any decorating, but once the prep is done I'm fine with the painting. No time for fannying about looking up to the skies for flyover bird ticks or flouncing about the garden with a camera .....

I'm fibbing. Every coffee break (and I made sure there were several!) was spent in the garden enjoying the sunshine, listening to the Blackcap sing itself stupid and watching the odd Buzzard drift over. Later in the afternoon, I spent 20 mins or so stood in front of a sunlit lilac bush where various flies seemed to be alighting on the leaves to bask in the warm glow. Trying to get shots is not easy when the subject is in full sun, warmed up and fully aware of the slightest movement. Most shots were one handed and reaching at an odd angle, so getting anything was an achievement. The following were the best efforts.

Epistrophe eligans

The first time one has settled, several have been buzzing around at head-height for a few days

Melanostoma scalare

A washed-out shot of a Yellow Dung Fly

And I think this is Eudasyphora cyanella

And a quick look at the front garden revealed another 'weed' that I'd not noticed ...

... which I'm sure is Ivy-leaved Speedwell

The garden moth trap is having a break whilst the nights are cool, I'll re-start that tomorrow night when it should start warming up a little overnight. In the meantime my lockdown hairgrowth is starting to get annoying, and I can feel a hack job coming on at the weekend using my hopelessly inadequate beard-trimmer. My lockdown alcohol intake is growing at a similar rate, and some weight-loss gains earlier in the year are in reverse. Feels like I'm going feral.