Sunshine in the garden (briefly)

 The sun shone, briefly, yesterday and what a difference it made to the hyacinth and crocuses. 

 They had been tightly curled up in bud for quite some time, but a bit of sunshine and they suddenly unfurled their petals and revealed their beauty.

Cream Beauty really is just that, with the contrasting orange centres.

This is my favourite photo as it shows the delicate veining on the petals  - beautiful while the sunshine lasted.
However, they are all tightly shut again now as we have had snow today!

Autumn sun

 We have been so lucky yesterday and today as we have had sunshine and the bluest of blue skies.  The combination of Helianthus Lemon Queen against the blue sky never fails to lift my spirits.  This year in particular, the Helianthus has been fantastic.

 I watched a plane leaving a vapour trail.

 Magnolia Lilifolia Susan's yellowing leaves looked beautiful against the blue.  I don't think even a Mediterranean sky could beat ours today.

 The butterflies, bees, wasps and other insects were also enjoying both the sunshine and the ivy flowers.  Ivy can be a thug and trying to keep it under control is a never-ending process, but it does have the benefit that insects love the flowers and birds love the berries.  I saw Red Admirals...

...and I was really pleased that this Comma butterfly stayed still long enough for me to take a photo.

The sky has lightened up now and clouds have interrupted the clear blue, but what a beautiful couple of mornings.

Hello to Lynne Mackay - welcome to Feltabulous.

Butterfly on the ivy

Once the sun had come out this morning, following a misty autumnal start to the day, I notices lots of insects visiting the ivy flowers on the wall. I was really pleased to catch this butterfly ( I think it is a Red Admiral) enjoying the nectar and the sunshine. The sky really was this blue too.

It really was one of those moments that makes you glad to be alive!