under another sun

Lorraine and I made six jars of plum jam today, from our own plum tree. Very industrious of us.  I also did some admin for the podcast, arranging for an interview. Then I had a two hour meeting with the Understory Conversation folks, which proved interesting and very useful for me.  I also received the absolute bloody final proofs of the Mariscat pages, they looked very good. Looks promising in the great Pat and Maureen move too... Hopefully they will be installed in Seaford in the not too distant future. Innis and Rosie around at tea time, having spent a good deal of time with this afternoon with assorted raptors, as a birthday present for Innis, sharing lots of detailed information about raptors and their ways.  Naturally this needed to be further discussed over a beer in the Boot, followed by noodles in Amie's kitchen. I had a phô which was rather nice -- I don't remember having one of those before -- and it was quite pokey in the chilli department.   Below Innis...

Gee Wisley Off to Wisley, the Royal Horticultural Society garden today, about an hour's drive from Brighton. It's still inescapably winter, and it was dripping and rainy. However there were signs everywhere enticing us to the butterfly hot house, where they house their tropical collection. A small notice informed us that the Butterflies were few at the moment, but those that were there, were being photographed like celebs. More fascinating was a chrysalis incubation case, where rows of chrysalis grouped in the different colours of their species were hanging down like coats on a rail, from greyish and leaflike to metallic golden. A couple of black and white Tree Nymph butterflies had recently emerged and gradually inflating their wings. It made me think of a library. Then out and about walking in the grounds. Lots of big trees, Lorraine hugged a pine, but didn't like it as much as much as a broad leafed tree. Lorraine got me fired up to transform my own back yard. My tree is...