At the time of writing it has started to rain; it must be June. When the fair used to come here in June it rained and Wimbledon will be with us shortly and it used to rain then although I wonder if it will ever rain again now they have a roof that can be automatically put over the Centre Court. Those playing on the outer courts will still have to suffer.

That said, June is a beautifully productive month with many flowers in bloom. The fields are looking a picture with buttercups, white and red clover, marsh orchids and many other wild flowers. The orchids take seven years to seed and reproduce so in certain years we seem to have more than usual. This must be a good year as we have lots.

While in the field we came across a black blob of matter on top of a fence post. My wife declared it to be a pellet that an owl had regurgitated. When they catch and eat insects the indigestible parts get formed into one of these pellets and every so often ejected from the crop of the bird (the first part of the birds digestion system). Di declared it to be made of the blue/black shells or wing cases of beetles which dispels the theory that owls only eat mice or voles.

Summer Visitor from Africa.

Richard saw a Black Cap in the garden on 30^th May and then I heard him; a beautiful melodious song delivered in short bursts. The female has a brown cap. They come here to breed, the nests hidden in bushes or thick undergrowth. Their diet consists of insect food, flies and caterpillars. They fly back to Africa in September after moulting.

Painted Lady Butterflies, this year have migrated from North Africa in great numbers. Two were seen flitting around our garden on 26^th May. They are a large butterfly and very pretty with pointed black tipped wings but overall beige wings with white spots. They breed here and the off spring return to North Africa in late August / September. This is a flight of over 2,000 miles, which is remarkable for so small an insect.

More Butterflies

Orange Tip: The caterpillars feed on a variety of plants including yellow and bitter cress, and buckthorn.

Brimstone Yellow. The caterpillars feed on Alder Trees.

Cabbage White and Small White Both species lay their eggs on cabbages, which is disastrous for the gardener, and the cabbage when the caterpillars appear. They also eat nasturtiums.

Holly Blue This butterfly produces two generations, one in the spring and one in the autumn; they feed on the blossom of holly and ivy.

Peacock. The eggs hatch into black hairy caterpillars and should soon be seen on stinging nettles.

Much twittering (of the bird kind) drew our attention to a Blue Tit nest inside the bargeboard under the eves of the house. A pair of very busy parents could be seen feeding them but the house is now silent and the family have transferred to a nearby Oak tree.