Overcast.

It felt quite cold this morning and with rain predicted for the afternoon I thought I'd best get on with tidying up the stone walls. Some time later the walls had been cleared of unwanted plants, the gap between them tidied and the old dead pampas grass removed and the rain still hadn't arrived. One section of the pampas grass is still alive and the young pampas grass which I planted earlier is doing well. For good measure and because I'd pulled them out of the wall I added 2 more seedlings. There were more tiny toadlets around, about half the size of the one I found the other day.

The Rambling Rector rose which scrambles through the trees has begun to flower.  

I was on my usual wander around the garden looking for things to photograph when I stopped for a while by the wild flower sections. At first I saw no wildlife, then I saw a Ringlet butterfly resting. No sooner had I taken some photos then I spotted a number of Ringlets, sometimes resting and sometime fluttering in pairs. Then a flash of electric blue caught my eye, a blue damsel fly. Once I took my time to look I saw more blue damsel flies, a red damselfly and a small grasshopper.  

This year the cowslips are flowering well, unlike last year when slugs or snails chewed through every stem.

The rain has finally arrived (it's 6.30). I've done my half an hour on the bike and my second lot of exercises so I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening.