It's a Blue . . .

My camera is not good for taking close-ups, so this is the best I can do.  A Holly Blue who we first spotted in the garden when Tam and Zane were here.  Sadly, just the one I think (leastways, I haven't seen two together).  A neighbour at the bottom of the hill has something to do with a Butterfly group (poss. the link one?) and is always on about her hedges mustn't be cut back because of the butterflies. I don't know if they put various larvae on her land, as we see just one Brimstone in the spring, and yet there are no feedplants for these in our area (Alder Buckthorn).

Anyway, Blues are my favourite butterflies and always remind me of Dorset, so I was thrilled to see this one on the Purple Loosestrife in the garden.

On Monday afternoon I was out in the garden all afternoon and finished clearing up around the pond.  Only the fact that my secateurs broke when I was cutting out old stems of Snowberry, stopped me working.  Tuesday morning saw me having to go out and buy new secateurs - I went for the best I could find, so hopefully they will last a few years.  The wildlife pond needs clearing as there is a lot of dead leaf detritis in the bottom and barely any depth of water on the top, so I will have a good clear out next month before the inhabitants start to hibernate.

I was unpegging the cat cushion covers from the line and putting them in the laundry basket when Mama's Little Helper decided to come along and check out the nice bed I'd made for him . . .

Little Whale looking very smug!

This Hydrangea starts of blue and then wants to turn pink, but stays purple instead. . .

This is the pretty little rag rug I bought at the Cheddar car boot sale for just £1.  Today I am visiting my fellow-blogger Dawn and learning to make my own.

I baked two Strawberry Madeira cakes yesterday - the small one to take today, and the big one for the freezer.

Photos over the weekend from today's outing.