Not much in the way of artistic merit to this one (I don’t claim that much for any of my pictures, but at least I sometimes try). It’s just a straightforward portrait shot of a butterfly. But it was such a nice, pristine looking specimen — I’ve never noticed that blue sheen on the wing corners before, for example — that I thought I’d share.

Oscar about to be pounced on by Dolly.

I’ve messed around with this one in iPhoto rather more than I normally do, as you can probably tell.

Dolly playing with a ball.

I thought I ought to post something, so here’s one from little while ago — a Lime Hawkmoth, Mimas tiliae, that came into the house.

A Moorish Gecko, Tarentola mauritanica, on the side of the villa we stayed at in Provence.

I’ve cropped down the photo because when I set up this theme I only allowed for photos in landscape orientation. Because it was easier that way. Perhaps I’ll try to fix that, although the theme was clumsily hacked together by me in a way that might not make it easy.

French Lavender, Lavandula stoechas, growing wild near Lac Saint Cassien in Provence. The picture could have done with more careful focus and probably a wider aperture, but I think it gives quite a nice sense of the landscape even so. The Mediterranean is so fabulous in spring, I don’t know why everyone goes in July. Or at least I do know, but I think they’re missing a trick.

One of my favourite butterflies; in this shot you can only see a tiny part of the eponymous orange wing-tips but I think the green and white mottled underwings are also very attractive. Garlic Mustard is one of the food plants for orange-tip caterpillars.

Taken just by Eynsford Viaduct in Kent, but facing in the other direction.

One last snow picture. Heavily cropped down from the original, fwiw.