July 9th. Dreams do come true......Part one.
The start of the Purple Emperor season always brings with it, great anticipation. Expectations are high and, there is a real buzz in the atmosphere, old friends and new gather, standing around telling stories of old, everyone listening intently. The one that got away before you could fire off a few shots with your camera, the nearly ones, three wings covered in blue but, never the forth, maybe today will be the day, or i always seem to photograph them on a smelly pile of dog`s poo, or on a mountain of horse dung. Then there is the, who will get the photo they dream of, the one they turn up for, hoping for, year after year, will someone get lucky, will someone go home with the gold medal. The only trouble is, no one really knows...and if who...
Today was the only day i could wangle off work at such short notice, and when i arrived at my destination within Chiddingfold Wood Peter Farrant and Paul Day were already there, shortly followed by Neil Hulme, with his trusty bike and, his bag off magic tricks.
Just after 11am we were rewarded with our first sighting, the Purple Emperor flying majestically down and then circling low just above the ground before landing. Our hearts pounding, we let the butterfly settle, then our camera`s were let loose, clicking away freely and speedily, not wanting to miss the moment, getting as close as we dared.
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But then, after a few minutes and, without warning, it was gone, flying up and into a Sallow tree, content to rest there, in the shade, out of reach of the scorching sun and, our camera`s lens.........Just before twelve i had to leave for an appointment.... The Purple Emperor still sitting restfully and quietly in the Sallow.........