If you were out and about over the weekend, maybe you'll have noticed something unusual going on.
No, I wasn't thinking of the unusually good bank holiday weekend weather that many of us enjoyed (though that was nice). Or the resulting sunburned humans. I'm talking butterflies on the move - painted ladies, to be specific.
This weekend saw a massive influx of these beautiful pale orange butterflies into the UK, especially the south and east. I read one report from near Norwich of 100 painted ladies flying through per minute! What a gobsmacking sight that must have been...
Seeing loads of butterflies is always great, but I'm full of admiration for these little creatures. They're true migrants and will probably have hatched out in north Africa before making their way through Europe and then crossing the sea to reach our shores. If you were at the seaside, perhaps you'll have seen them arriving?
Even if you were inland, you might well have seen painted ladies fluttering past you at a rate of knots. Several passed through my Cambridgeshire garden on Saturday, but they weren't interested in stopping to sample any of my flowers, or even just to have a rest. They just kept on going.
That got me thinking... how do they know where they're going? Do they have an end destination? Do they fly a set distance and then stop - what makes them settle down and start to feed and breed? It's mindboggling!
Here at The Lodge, today's weather is horrible - wet, windy and cold. What will they be doing? Maybe they'll have to stop now...