Sunshine, oiling and bugs

Yay!  Summer felt like it had returned today :)  Back out into the garden after a day or two of zero action to do more garden furniture oiling/staining.  When I was about to begin on the second coat of the table I noticed a clump of bug eggs that had been laid on the underside of the table (extras......check it out large).  Whilst they were a pest and served to slow my oiling/staining down, they were nevertheless an incredible arrangement so I couldn't resist a foray into some macro shots before they were removed from the table and the work continued.  It wasn't until I got the images onto the screen tonight that I actually looked - really looked - at the eggs.  They were stunning - an almost Mother-of-Pearl 'shell' around them that was textured with concentric furrows radiating from each egg's top.  

Having finished most of the second coats (work interspersed with trips back indoors to keep an eye on the tennis) and packed up for the day I opted to seek out a few more macro shots.  This Fluffy Bum (Passionvine Hopper nymph) sat still long enough for me to capture a couple of shots that have been focus stacked to add a bit more detail.  Other Fluffy Bum pics in extras.  They're not good - I just like them.

Back indoors for a shower and clean-up (working with oil-based products is a pain!) then dinner and more tennis.  Should hopefully be able to complete the final coats tomorrow.