A Lime Hawk Moment

I inherited from my father my love of butterflies and moths - and, with it, the June habit of scrutinising the trunks of lime trees as I pass them (a habit which can get you some funny looks). I do this, of course, in hope of seeing newly emerged lime hawk moths on the bare trunks. Some years I spot half a dozen or so (this is on urban and suburban streets), some none. This year it has been none. Then today, sitting with lunchtime sandwich and book under a tree in a small public garden in Kensington, I suddenly noticed, on the grass within a couple of feet of me - a lime hawk moth. I don't suppose I gaped and rubbed my eyes, but it would have been entirely appropriate. My first (and probably last)lime hawk of the year - and in the unlikeliest of places. It was slightly the worse for wear, with some of its colour rubbed off and the outer margin of one wing thin and gauzy - but still a very beautiful sight. I had it crawling around on my fingers for a while as I admired it close-up, then I put it on the trunk of the tree I was under, hoping it would recover its strength and fly off this evening. And the tree wasn't even a lime... A heart-lifting surprise, and a classic case of finding when you have ceased to seek.