Are they....

...thinking about mating?

It is Bruce's birthday today and i was trying very hard to get a good shot of him running through the tall grasses - and failed! He was having far too much fun to be bothered with the camera shoot!

However I did catch a flurry of movement in the grasses and noticed two ringlets who on first glance seemed to be fighting, especially when they were briefly joined by another so I managed to get quite a few shots, most of which are very, very blurry. When i got home it occurred to me that they might have been courting with a view to mating, if that is what butterflies do!

In the afternoon I joined a friend on a visit to a delightful garden near Aberfeldy which is north facing with fabulous views across the Tay valley. The garden would be spectacular in May as it has an abundance of mature rhododendrons and azaleas but today it was the turn of the scented old fashioned roses and huge clumps of white and pink peonies which stole the show. The large garden was separated into 'rooms' with different plantings and atmosphere and one of my favourites was one edged with red prunus hedging (at first I thought it was copper beech) and the planting was a mixture of white, pink and pale purple - it was delightful.