Silver Washed Fritillaries

Today, Sunday, we had a gathering in Rainbow Wood. We invited a bunch of different friends over for morning coffee and fruit cake (bought at the Henfield summer fair and made by the WI - and it was delicious). We lit a fire and kept it stoked to boil the kettle.

The morning promised to stay wet, but after an early shower or two the wind picked up slightly and the sun came out. The extra bit of warmth provided by the sunshine soon had the silver washed fritillaries on the wing (picture on the left). There were plenty of other butterflies, too - among them we saw red admirals.

The ash we felled earlier this year has bounced back with lots of new shoots - some of which are now about 1 metre high, and hopefully, will soon be out of reach of browsing roe deer.

We also have Enchanter's Nightshade Circaea Lutetiana with its irridescent white flowers.