Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Peacock and Speckled Wood

After a month of overcast, rainy weather, summer and butterflies return! The gaudy and gorgeous peacock Inachis io loves to feed on buddleia.

In contrast to the peacock's bold markings the camouflage of the speckled wood Parage aegeria tircis, snapped in my garden today.

4 comments:

Nick said...

It looks like it was a very pleasant day when you took that picture. Spring is thankfully not far away here now. I'm not sure I've taken many successful photographs of butterflies though. They don't seem to like to cooperate with me.

By the way, I just bought a nice set of Thomas Browne's major works for myself, and a copy of the Hydriotaphia for a friend.I think I've now spent enough money for one day.

Kevin Faulkner said...

Which edition of the works did you purchase? The Wilkins re-print? Do please let me know if you come across any text worthy of comment, explanation or query.

I was considerably poorer in the pocket after purchasing my 1658 edition of Pseudodoxia with Urn and Garden appended!

Nick said...

I really should have asked your advice before making a purchase. I bought a penguin edition of the 'major works' and, perhaps stupidly (I now think) the Oxford University Press edition from 1972, edited by somebody called Robin Robbins.

I suppose they aren't very 'nice' editions, now I think about it.

I had wondered if you collected books. I imagine the 1658 edition of the Pseudodoxia would have been very expensive.

Kevin Faulkner said...

Hi Nick!

The Penguin 1977 edition with a great intro by C..A.Patrides is fine, it's most peoples first Browne book.

Robbin's is fine to, especially his annotated P.E. but that goes for £150 now. My only objection is to modern editions which publish the two Discourses separately, usually Urn by itself, totally against the author's intentions.

So nothing to worry about there. I strongly recommend the very inexpensive, thin, but perceptive critical guide by Peter Green in the Longmans and Green Writers and their Work series (no.108) of 1959.

Losing my job has restricted my book-collecting somewhat, hence this blog!