Lurking in the bluebells...

There's one thing for sure - this weather is ideal for slugs and snails! Another day of more or less continuous rain meant that I caught up with a lot of e-mails, but didn't take any photographs. I was very nearly going to miss a day, feeling absolutely uninspired, but Ben persuaded me that I should go and find a subject.

So at half past ten I went out into the damp, drizzly garden armed with camera and torch to see who was lurking among the vegetation. The number and diversity of slugs and snails was a sight to behold - tiny delicate snails with shells as fine as porcelain, lumbering garden snails, yellow and black striped snails and lots of slugs of different sizes, mostly the same species, with magnificently patterned heads and bodies.

The scented herbs and furry geraniums were free from their depredations, but the daffodils and bluebells are obviously far more palatable, and were thick with them. It's amazing that any manage to flower. But having watched their slow-motion acrobatics and admired their beauty, I somehow don't really mind the slugs taking their share. We have plenty to spare, and the blackbirds and thrushes act as a check on their numbers.