Enough gardening, let’s go for lunch!

On Saturday it was too good to stay in so we decided to go to Pons for lunch.

We had lunch on the restaurant balcony overlooking the old Donjon and then walked down to the river to see if we could spot any Kingfishers.

Unfortunately, no Kingfishers were sighted but the ducks were parading with their numerous offspring so I was not disappointed.  As common as ducks might be I never tire of their antics nor of seeing flotillas of duckings.

The riverside walk has changed over the years and they have added some wooden bridges so that you can cross over the meandering Seugne.

It was a warm sunny day and quantities these dragonflies were flying around.  As far as I can tell they are male Calopteryx Splendens.

Green ones were flying around too but these were less numerous and I supposed them to be another kind of dragonfly.  In fact, they appear to be female Calopteryx splendens.  The insect world does its best to confuse us.  At least when you take photographs of the dragonflies it gives you time to examine their rears.

Here is the male dragonfly displaying his boy bits or claspers.

The Speckled Wood butterfly  (Pararge aegeria) was everywhere too, it is the most common butterfly we see in the woods around here.

There were lots of little white butterflies, probably different sorts of Pieris.  I always associate them with cabbages but of course their are lots of other plants in the Brassicaceae family.

Lady’s smock (Cardamine pratensis) is in the Brassicaceae and there was lots of it around.  I don’t usually see such dark ones near us.

Although in the minority there were lighter forms as well.  It is called La cressonnette or cresson in French and apparently is edible although I have never tried it yet.

This time it was my husband who spotted the cute bee.

She was so covered in pollen that she had difficulty taking off.  Either that or the nectar she had been sampling had started fermenting in situ.  I cannot identify her as she was so covered in pollen but I would guess a little Halictes bee.  After a brief respite on my husband’s hand she took off into the air.

Back over another bridge and we had finished our circuit around the river.