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Country diary: The king of butterflies on a bungalow bin lid

The Guardian

4 hours ago

General
The Guardian

Country diary: The king of butterflies on a bungalow bin lid

I'm leaning on the lid of Mum's compost bin in a sunny spot, waiting for her to come home, when there is a 'plop' by my elbow. A butterfly has landed. There is no gap between seeing the butterfly and recognising it as a male purple emperor. I check the bin scene in disbelief: keys, glasses, phone, His Imperial Majesty (as he is known to admirers). Ragged and abraded of scales, his wings are swathed in royal purple light. A starry Disney wizard's cloak. He turns, loses his gilding in the new angle of light, and becomes reminiscent of a dusty armchair. The loose constellations on his raised forewings and the crescent of white, messy-edged darts look as though spray paint has bled from under a stencil. On one hindwing is a single tortoiseshell eyespot; the other has been torn away in nips and thorn tears. If this is a king of kings, he is a raggedy one. I pick up my phone to photograph this extraordinary visitor. Purple emperors feed in treetops, on sap and honeydew, only descending for salts and minerals on rotting things and animal dung. It's been a (relatively) great year for butterfly numbers, but even so. This is my third incidental encounter with His Imperial Majesty. The first floated on to rudbeckia flowers when I was on the landline to Mum 17 years ago, exhausted with three young children and with 200 miles between us. Now she is in the village, and shortly we'll be moving in alongside her. My second purple emperor was on a towpath dog poo. A runner paused to see what I'd found and I pointed in delight to a suddenly vacant pile of excrement. It seems inauspicious that such an elusive, aristocratic butterfly should be photographed on a bungalow bin lid. But I choose to claim this as the opposite: a sign that all will be well here at Mum's, a mile from our home of 21 years where I saw my first. Finally, the butterfly powers away, as if he has torn free from the pins and dust of a Victorian collector's display cabinet. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount

Yahoo

9 hours ago

Entertainment
Yahoo

Your Daily MomScope for August 01, 2025

It takes a village to raise a child. Sometimes we need a little extra guidance from the stars to manage motherhood. Momscope is here to help. Aries Your child needs to get out and try something new from time to time. It's up to you to remind them about the importance of having and acting on this pioneering spirit. Encourage them to take that all-important first step. Taurus You need have no fears about your baby when they must mingle with children from another country or culture. Because they will always find a way to charm them, and find a way to communicate no matter what. You have only to watch and learn. Gemini Of course, preaching will not get you anywhere with your little one. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep repeating valuable life lessons. If they hear your advice and admonitions often enough, they'll eventually sink in. Cancer Miscommunication can so easily happen today. With their limited vocabulary, your tyke may say something that doesn't sound quite right. It's up to you to try to translate what they're saying and perhaps phrase it more effectively. Leo You will find an opportunity today to share your passion for travel with your little one. There's no time like the present to figure out where that next big trip will take you both -- even if it's only from your armchair. Find your cosmic purpose. Receive personalized astrological guidance with Astrology+. Virgo Go ahead and go with the flow today. Your baby may ask for something out of the ordinary -- like pancakes or cereal for supper. As long as they're getting some good nutrition and it's not unreasonable you can give in just this once. Libra Express yourself! There's no reason why all your work gear need be so conservative, and your 'momwear' even more so. Follow the tyke's example and wear something in a vibrant spring shade today. You'll be happy and right on trend. Scorpio Someone may urge you to take a financial risk today, but that wouldn't be the wisest thing to do. Hard times don't always call for desperate measures. You'll do much better if you stay on a sensible, time-worn path towards your goals. Sagittarius Time for a big adventure! There are so many things to see and do at the park or playground or zoo. Make an early start and pack a lunch, so you won't have to miss out on a single experience that's on tap. Capricorn Some days all you can do is persevere. Today, whenever it seems like you're making slow progress, be proud of the fact that you're making progress at all. And there's always someone waiting at day care to give you a big sticky hug. Aquarius Tag! You're it! Social director for the day, that is. That party at day care won't get organized by itself. Or maybe the tyke just can't get that tea party to come together. Once you're in charge, fun times are guaranteed. Pisces Whoops! You may have let the cat out of the bag about a secret. You could just wait and hope it all blows over. A better approach would be to get started right away on damage control, and everything will be fine. Do your stars align? Find out your Compatibility Score and reveal the truth! Solve the daily Crossword

Big names and local musicians set to hit Riverfest Elora stages next month

CBC

18 hours ago

Entertainment
CBC

Big names and local musicians set to hit Riverfest Elora stages next month

Every August, hundreds of music fans gather in the village of Elora for Riverfest. This year, the festival has a mix of local musicians and big names like City and Colour and Wheatus on stage. Spencer Shewen, the festival's creative director, and Sonia Cheng, the festival manager, spoke about what they're most excited about.

‘Harvest' Review: When the Land Was Home

New York Times

a day ago

Entertainment
New York Times

‘Harvest' Review: When the Land Was Home

At the start of Athina Rachel Tsangari's 'Harvest,' it's not clear whether Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry Jones) is feral or just madly in love with the land. Clad in loose, roughly woven garments, he practically skips through the landscape, which is shot in lush and ruddy hues. He gnaws on one tree branch, then appears to make out with a knothole in another tree. He exults in the sunshine, strips off his clothes and glides through the water, every inch of his body open to the waves. He is one with nature, it would seem. It's only after this introduction that we come to find out who Walter is, and where we are. This is Scotland, near the dawn of the modern age, and Walter lives in a tiny village, far from anything resembling a real town. It's so small that it doesn't have a name. The handful of residents there farm the land, which belongs to Master Kent (Harry Melling), a kind and good man, if a bit of a weakling. Walter once was Master Kent's manservant and was raised from infancy as his best friend. But Walter fell in love with a girl in the village — and with the land on which she lived, down by the water. So he moved out of the big house and into one of the thatched ones, and though the xenophobic villagers distrust anyone who isn't one of their own, he began the life of a farmer and slowly managed to become one of them. But now his wife is gone. He has a transactional sort of relationship with a village widow named Kitty (Rosy McEwen), but for the most part he lives like a bachelor, and happily. When 'Harvest' begins, though, that tranquillity is about to be ravaged. First there's a fire. Then, a set of strangers show up in the village: three intruders with unknown intentions, and also a mapmaker (Arinzé Kene), hired by Master Kent to survey the land. With them they bring the outside world, and an uneasiness that only accelerates when a snobbish aristocrat (Frank Dillane) shows up. 'Harvest,' which takes place over one week's time, is gorgeous and strange and a bit winding, though not unpleasantly so. It's adapted by Tsangari and Joslyn Barnes from Jim Crace's novel, with ample voice-over and a lot of thick Scottish accents — I saw it with subtitles. The cinematographer Sean Price Williams shot the movie on 16 mm, which lends it a textured, almost grubby feel at times, as if the film itself has come to us from the past and might disintegrate into dust. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.