Introducing...

...the large rose sawfly (Arge pagana). I had to look up this beastie as I had no idea what it was. It's perched on one of my climbing roses, so it's well-named. At the start of the month, I spied its larvae on the rose and took a snap, but I didn't know what they were – I thought they might be caterpillars of a butterfly that had lain lots of eggs. Nope. 

I got stuck into a bit of work today, trying to catch up after not being able to work in the heat. Fred went on a cycle ride and checked out the fire damage in the woods near Shirley. It wasn't as bad as he had feared, thank goodness. Those fires on Tuesday have prompted me to check my compost heap isn't drying out – I had no idea that it could catch fire in extreme conditions! 

It was quite warm and muggy, so not that pleasant. I took Poppy for a walk in the afternoon and she enjoyed her game of ball but needed a lie down in the grass afterwards and plenty of water to catch her breath. I try to curtail the ball game in this weather, but she's a keen player.

Cooked a simple and delicious trout meal this evening. Nom.