At last the sun has come out long enough for us to do our first submission for the big butterfly count.  This is the red admiral that visited the echinaceas, but refused to give us more than a glimpse of its dramatic wing tops.  It kept returning to the same flower despite all the others nearby.  And unlike the gatekeeper butterflies which never stopped still for more than a second or two, the red admiral was happy feasting off the same flower for a more than a minute each time.

A real highlight for me with this survey is being able to see what other people have spotted.  You can see what we saw by entering our postcode 0X9 2HU.

I guess the truth is we want it all.  We want good looks as well as intelligence, brains as well as brawn.  But we invariably settle on a compromise.  Few people have it all.
When it comes to vegetables, I err on the side of looks. I want my vegetable garden to be productive and I enjoy the harvest, but at least as important to me is the vista.  The sight of a burgeoning vegetable garden is even more rewarding than the taste of it.
That being said, the best looking plants can also be the tastiest.  The flowers of courgettes, beans and peas are stunning at this time of year, as are their early fruits.  I guess the only crops that don’t contribute much to the vista are root crops, but the sight of a bunch of freshly dug colourful carrots makes up for it.  I’m sure there’s a message in there somewhere about digging deeper and not being superficial.