21/09/2026 I am not doing very well at catching up. Here are are some from July all in the garden!

 The maximum temperature in the Charente today is 27⁰C; the minimum tonight is 12⁰C!   22km/h NNE winds with 42km/h gusts.  The garden is not going to recover from the very long heatwave. Many shrubs look dead, and the only green on the lawn is bindweed!!  Winter will arrive, and the grass will never recover (if it does) before spring 2027.

Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea or Colias croceus ) Le Souci.

Female House Sparrows playing in the water (Passer domesticus) Le Moineau domestique.  Les femelles

Gatekeeper or Hedge Brown (Pyronia tithonus) L’Amaryllis.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) Le Cuivré commun ou Bronzé...

As above.

Cyclamen (Cyclamen L.) Les Cyclamens.

Common Blue, also known as the Small Blue, (Polyommatus icarus) L’Argus bleu, ou Petit Bleu commun...

As above.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) Le Cuivré commun ou Bronzé...

Small white butterfly (Pieris rapae) La Piéride de la rave.

Common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum) Le bourdon des champs.

Orchid (Orchidaceae) Les Orchidacées, plus connues sous le nom d'orchidées. Violet est au-dessus et la blanche en dessous.

Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) Le Rougequeue noir.

Hay bales - Balles de foin.

Common chicory (Cichorium intybus) La Chicorée amère.

 

Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) Le Geai des chênes. 

Hiding behind the Mallow (Malvaceae) La famille de la mauve.

Great Tit (Parus major) La Mésange charbonnière.

House Sparrow female (Passer domesticus) Le Moineau domestique femelle.

Young Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) La Mésange bleue.

Homegrown figs - Les figues

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia herta) Rudbeckie hérissée ou Rudbéckie hirsute.

Quince fruit (Cydonia oblonga) Coing.

Tomatoes - Tomates

Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) Le Geai des chênes. 

House Sparrows having a disagreement (Passer domesticus) Le Moineau domestique.....

As above.

Firebug or red soldier beetle (Pyrrhocoris apterus) Le Gendarme ou Pyrrhocore.

.

Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) Le Lézard des murailles.

Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) Le Geai des chênes. 

Bird’s-Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) Le Lotier corniculé.

Chicory with what I believe might be a 

White-banded Sweat Bee (Lasioglossum leucozonium) Le Lasioglosse bandes-blanches.

27/08/2026 At last I am finishing of the last of June's photos!!

 The maximum temperature in the Charente today is 25⁰C; the minimum tonight is 15⁰C!   8km/h ESE winds with 19km/h gusts.  6mm of rain last night was very welcome.  The garden is going to take some time to recover from the very long 3½ months' heatwave. It is very burnt!

Thistles in the neighbour's garden. Very pretty while in flower, but the seeds and the thorns are blowing everywhere now!!

Spiny plumeless thistle (Carduus acanthoides). Le Chardon faux-acanthe.

Western Green Lizard (Lacerta bilineata). Lézard vert occidental.

I used to often see these in the garden, but they have not been around for a number of years now, so I was delighted to this one.

BeeFly (Bombylius cruciatus) Grand bombyle.

Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) L'Hespérie du dactyle. 

 In America, it is known as the European skipper...

As above...

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) Le Geai des chênes.

Bath White or Green Marbled White (Pontia daplidice). La Piéride du réséda.

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) La Mésange bleue.  Trying to cool off in the continuous high temperatures.

As above, a youngster looking on.

Painted Lady, or Thistle Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) La Belle-Dame.

Scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) Le Flambé...

As above.

Mallow skipper, Grey Skipper, or Alcea Skipper (Carcharodus alceae). La Grisette ou Hespérie de l'alcée...

As above...

As above.

Loved this sunset, I could 'see' so many 'creatures' in the clouds.

Common Blue Butterfly (Polyommatus icarus)  L’Argus bleu, Azuré commun, Azuré de la Bugrane ou Petit Bleu commun.

Large White (Pieris brassicae) La Piéride du chou...

As above.

Common Mallow or wood mallow (Malva sylvestris) La Grande Mauve.