Hello Friends!
For the past ten days or so the weather has meant no gardening {only if I really, really had to} as it has been very cold and very windy. I'm not a fan of gardening in twenty to thirty mile an hour winds! However, it has been a lovely spring day
today, the sun shone brightly in a boldly blue sky, and cottontail puffs of
clouds scurried along in the not too insignificant breezes that billowed and
blew the cobwebs away ~~~ a perfect afternoon for a few hours weeding in the
garden, so booted and suited in my gardening togs off I went and carried on the
job of clearing the raspberry patch ~~~
I had not been clearing very long when I discovered I had a very quiet
companion. At first I thought it was a leaf, but then I realised it was a
beautiful Angle Shades moth {Phlogophora meticulosa ~ which sounds rather like
a spell from a Harry Potter novel!}
With a wingspan of about 45 ~ 50 mm, it is a fairly common moth,
especially in southern coastal areas, with distinctive markings and looking not
unlike a withered leaf {great camouflage}.
It would not let me go! It clung on to my gloves, and despite my best
efforts refused to fly away to the safety of nearby cover, so moth on hand I came
and found my camera and took some photos of the obliging little creature. Here are the best ones I managed ~~~ to see a larger image, just click on each image ~~~
