Over-mature

Even I have to admit that this one is looking a bit past her best. "She is," said R, whose favourite photo of the day this is, "but she still looks as though she was made by an Art Nouveau jeweller." Well, maybe - though I think the jeweller might need to go for a less authentically aged look if he wants to stay in business.

Still, this elderly female Banded Demoiselle has clearly done her bit for the propagation of her species, and I salute her for that. Rather less so the over-mature male on the other side of the river, who's so determined to have first dibs on any female coming his way that he's now prepared to see off any other male entering the reed bed channel he's decided is his territory. Including, today, a Migrant Hawker and a Brown Hawker. I don't have it in me to wish him gone, but I do wish he'd calm down a bit and stop chasing away my dragons.

In other news, today was Stratford Rotary Club duck race day, an event which seems to have been a bit of a damp squib, from the utter lack of enthusiasm being shown by the crowd on the river bank, but which does seem to have raised a lot of money for charity - so that's good.