Classic British weather today. lovely in the morning, when I took the dog out and then had another go at photographing insects. Still pleasant when I set off for a meeting in town and watched a family of crows at the station. Full on thunder, lightning and torrential rain for about an hour and a half during the meeting. OK again by late afternoon. Hey ho!

So far I have managed just three pictures of bees in the past two days which are anywhere near sharp enough to share: the first is turning its back:

The second is hiding its head:

But the third is just showing off!

The crows were rather easier to catch today. They were great to watch, and completely unfussed by travellers and trains: another benefit of the efforts of our wonderful volunteer station gardeners. This is the second pond on the site:

One member of the family was using it to bathe and drink, whilst others strutted around or snuggled amongst the daisies:

And although they are almost as large as the parent birds, the young ones still expected to be fed:

Just as my train arrived, one of the birds decided to try using the feeder for itself, swinging wildly around, as it was pretty much the same as large as the feeder itself. Great fun to watch.

PS: Decided to use my old Nikon D50 for insect shots rather than the Lumix – not sure how much difference it made. Will keep switching between the two until I’ve decided.