Our last day looking after Rosie the cocker spaniel. I’ve never known a dog so averse to walks, but I took her for a final drag down the bridleway just to remind her who was boss.
As we emerged on to the main track, I spotted a beautiful small moth flitting about the grass and bracken. It was soot-black, apart from on the extremes of its wing-tips, which were white. The second I stopped to observe the moth, the ever-optimistic Rosie decided I must be turning for home, and headed off back down the track as far as her extended lead would allow. In the meantime, I tried unsuccessfully to capture some reference photos of the moth with my phone. With an excited cocker spaniel tugging on her lead as I did so, this proved impossible. But subsequent Googling revealed the moth to be an aptly named chimney sweeper moth.
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Having dropped Rosie off at her home, we drove to Mike D’s garden party in Manchester. The party was officially to launch his new garden pond. Any excuse. Jen and I sat at the side of the pond for half an hour, watching midges laying eggs in the water, while water-boatmen scudded about on the surface trying to capture them.
Later, while sitting on a garden chair, tucking into some excellent pulled pork, I spotted a tiny jumping spider on my trouser leg. I spent a happy five minutes encouraging the spider to jump back and forth between my leg and the arm of the garden chair. Massive leaps for such a minuscule creature.
