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.

02/08/2026 Oh dear, now its August and June is still not blipped......

 The maximum temperature in the Charente today is 38⁰C; the minimum tonight is 22⁰C! 18km/h South/Easterly winds with 32km/h gusts.  Cooler apparently tomorrow and maybe rain!! I hope.

Common Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) Le Citron...

As above.

Miniature rose.

Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum) L'Ornithogale des Pyrénées.

French  Flower Chafer (Trichius gallicus)  Trichie de France...

As above,

Garden rose that I have no idea what it is!

Beefly (Bombylius cruciatus) Le bombyle crucifié.

Brown-spotted Bush Cricket (Tessellana tessellata) la decticelle carroyée.

Unusual to see a swallow on the ground, but this one appears to be collecting nesting material.

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) L'Hirondelle rustique.

Wild poppies (Papaver rhoeas) Le Coquelicot.

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) La Belle-Dame ou Vanesse des chardons....

As above...

As above.

Female European greenfinch (Chloris chloris) Le Verdier d'Europe...

As above.

Another unnown Garden rose!

European paper wasp (Polistes dominula) Guêpes polistes. 

Caterpillar of the Patience Moth, or Blackish Ash Moth, (Acronicta rumicis) La Noctuelle de la Patience.

Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) Le Moro-sphinx, Sphinx colibri ou Sphinx du caille-lait.

Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) La Mésange bleue and

a European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) Le Chardonneret élégant. At the back is a male Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) Le Pinson des arbres.

Greenfinch see above (male).

Male Greenfinch.

Variable Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) la Thomise variable.

Still more of June to go yet!

07/07/2026 - Still catching up with May!!

  The maximum temperature in the Charente today is 40⁰C but feels much hotter; the minimum tonight is 21⁰C. 16km/h Easterly winds with 30km/h gusts of wind. We need a lot of gusts!!

My last post at the end of June, was the start of May. I will endeavour to finish May off today, sitting in the office with the fan full on!

Carpenter bees in the garden at home ( Xylocopa ) Les Xylocopes on a Sweet William flower.

Most of the following photos were taken up North near Argenton-sur-Creuse,  where we decided to have a break. It was even hotter there than at home!

Greater Stitchwort (Rabdera holostea) La Stellaire holostée.  Something obviously enjoys the taste of it!!  The insect is a Common Globetail or Feather hoverfly (Sphaerophoria script) Le Syrphe porte-plume. See a closer shot of the hoverfly near the end of this blog....

 

Common Mallow (Malva sylvesris) La Grande Mauve.

Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) Iris des marais.

Bird's foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) I think! Le Lotier corniculé.

Broad-veined or Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi) Le Gazé ou la Piéride de l'aubépine.

Common knapweed (Centaurea jacea) La Centaurée jacée with a   Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) L'Abeille européenne.

Beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) Le caloptéryx vierge...

As above, I think, despite it not looking quite the same colour!

A walk in the woods.

Blackberry flowers (Rubus fruticosus) La mûre, mûre sauvage ou mûron, aussi appelé meuron.

On our walk in the woods, we also spotted these tiny 'fairy' houses.  We did not see any residents!

Argenton-sur-Creuse,  La Creuse River,  looking at the old bridge.

Argenton-sur-Creuse  - Catholic church 'SaintSavior'.

Returning home, the last photos taken in May.

Beefly (Bombylius cruciatus) Bombyle,  on the Sweet William.

Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) La Petite tortue ou Vanesse de l'ortie.  On the lavendar.

Common Globetail or Feather hoverfly (Sphaerophoria script) Le Syrphe porte-plume on the lavendar. 

Love is in the air!  Italian bug or harlequin bug (Graphosoma italicum) Le Graphosome d'Italie ou Punaise arlequin. It is on the 'gone to seed' Wildflower (Orlaya grandiflora) Lace flower,  which you can see in flower at the top of the last blog.

Finally, I have caught up with May, now to try and catch up with June!!!