Spot the (Sutton Hoo) Dragon

We returned to NT Sutton Hoo this afternoon and looked in the wood to see how the bluebells are coming along. You can see the green shoots behind Spot the Dragon. Some years we have seen these wonderful flowers attracting Orange-tip butterflies, showing off nature's complementary colours in the best of ways; though I cannot help wondering why there should be such contrast when (surely) camouflage, i.e. a flower and butterfly of the same shade, would afford more protection from predators. 

And by the way, we have at last seen our first butterfly of 2023; a Small Tortoiseshell on 21 March. This seems very late for back in 2004 when we were still living in Swansea, two butterflies alighted on our rockery on a snowy Valentine's Day. I wrote a Haiku to mark the event:

St Valentine’s Day –
butterflies hug the heather,
snow kisses the lawn

Looking across the River Deben to Woodbridge

 

Signs of Spring: Black Lambs at NT Sutton Hoo

We visited these wonderful Hebridean lambs (above and below) at NT Sutton Hoo last weekend when they were a matter of days old. They were gambolling about near the mounds and leaping up in the air. We returned to the site this weekend to see how they were getting on. 

 

The photos above this line were taken eight days ago. The ones below were taken a week later ...

Their shepherd has asked the public to suggest names. Both lambs are females. We sent in our suggestions and it will be interesting to see which names are chosen.