Eeewe!

I heard an unfamiliar bleating sort of sound coming from the kitchen while MrQ was making a cup of tea. The 1970's cutlery drawer does squeak so I guessed it was that. Then I heard a huge splash. I dashed through the garden room just in time to see a very wet ewe and her lamb exit our laundry room and run off down the garden path. They'd had a dip in the garden pond. I shut Ollie dog inside and gave chase. I approached the pair, chatting to them and they trotted towards me. The ewe then stamped her feet threateningly and off they went in the direction of our field. It smelt very sheepy in our sodden laundry room. Eeewe! The pair eventually decided to go back with their kind.

Excitement this morning as I spotted and identified a butterfly that I have never seen on our property, having lived here for fifty-two years. It's a white letter hairstreak which gets its name from the white letter 'w' on its wings. These came close to extinction when the elms, on which their caterpillars feed, succumbed to Dutch elm disease. They stay in the treetops mainly but sometimes come down to nectar.

I've also included the wren that I see every morning on the northerly bank of the lake. It has an insect in its beak so might still have a brood to feed.