October Rain

What does a butterfly do if, on a warm October morning when it's concentrating on soaking up some rays, it suddenly rains? The answer, of course, is that....

....it closes its wings and endures until the rain eases, when it makes a dash for cover.

The underside of a red admiral's wings may not be as spectacular as the top side but they more than make up for it in the beauty of their patterning. The peacock has just as glorious a pattern, and we had several of each species in the garden this morning. All the other species, such as the cabbage whites and the speckled woods, both at our house and along our walks, have disappeared.

As the butterflies seek out somewhere to hibernate our interest shifts to the birds that we hope will stick with us through the coming winter - and one of the most important of these is the robins; or, to be more precise, the robin which, in the next few days and weeks, manages to assert itself as dominant.

At present it's the character seen in this picture, perched boldly on the highest branch of the gorse bush at the bottom of the garden and singing his triumph; but, as he sings, another....

....robin creeps in below him un-noticed and, having checked that his rival is busy, enjoys some food from the ground underneath the feeders.