Bungalow Buddleia, Butterfly & Bramble

Amazingly, I didn't notice the bramble in the garden - only spotted it when I looked at the photo!

Spent four hours gardening at the house this afternoon - took my mind off my sciatica - until I stopped. Oh boy, does it hurt now, despite having a nice hot bath when I'd finished. Sadly, it's stopped me going to table tennis tonight. Boo hoo. I wish it would go away!

Happier things: at the house, the baby swallows continue to grow and are now looking way too big for the nest. It's distinctly crowded, especially as they've started doing practice wing-flapping, very energetically building up their muscles. Such fun to watch! Can't think it'll be long before they fledge. But can't move the nest too quickly as I think they will return to roost there for some time after they start flying.

I've taken some movie from my perch on the stairs indoors, through the (now filthy) window above the door, of them thrashing around and flapping their wings. They're more or less in silhouette, but you can spot the odd flash of crimson and blue plumage. I shall try and upload it online and post a link another day if I succeed.