Not as scary..

...as it looks. I spotted this large insect on an aster outside a friend's house. When she came out for a lunchtime walk, she was sceptical that the insect I was studying was harmless. I couldn't see a stinger, though. When I looked it up after our walk, I discovered that it's a hornet hoverfly – one of the UK's largest flies, and harmless. I was impressed by it and now I'm hoping it will visit my asters when they flower – they seem quite far behind other gardens and have no buds as yet.

Scarlett and I walked around the cemetery spotting numerous butterflies. I caught a common blue on camera (see extra), but not the gatekeepers. The speckled woods were in great numbers. It's super to see lots of butterflies, but the red admirals and tortoiseshells I used to see in abundance in my childhood don't seem to be around. However, I grew up in Inverness so perhaps it's a Highland vs southeast England thing, I hope.

We had a proper Monday evening out to celebrate my first day back in the office (well, not in the office as such, but back working at a company on a contract, albeit from home). Razan, Fred and I enjoyed pizzas at the pub, followed by tea and cake at the local Italian, and a giggle watching Thor: Love and Thunder at the cinema. I'm still laughing at the goats!