Alone

All the bumblebees and honey bees and hover flies and small wasps and flies that came out to party on the michaelmas daisies once this morning's heavy rain had cleared were upstaged when....

....a single red admiral arrived and started to show....

....every aspect of its intricate colours and patterns.

We came as close as it would allow and spent time watching it, in wonder and in sadness, for this was the only butterfly we saw all day.