True to Ham Lands Butterfly Community Mission form, today saw runners coming from far and wide and, yet again, no rain! This time I really will have jinxed it...

And so into the depths of Ham Lands we ventured, Beth a little bewildered as to how we ever find where to go, Kate herding GoodGymers up and finally finding the Friends of Ham Lands crew (our usual contact was at a meditation retreat, being bombarded by GoodGym calling - sorry Sufiyo!).

Today we were back to working on "our" path, widening it further, cutting back brambles and twigs and making it look like, well, a path. We are now well-trained with turning up with bramble-proof attire (David brought some stunning luminous socks all the way from Lambeth, and had clearly spent the week planning a highly colour-co-ordinated outfit); but we'd forgotten about THE NETTLES. Turns out that winter does have some benefits and we'd been lulled into a false sense of nettle absence security.

Nettle be having you!

And before a butterfly could flutter by, we were snapped right back out from our nettle-free dreams, with legs and ankles being stung whenever we stepped back and waded right through them. You'd have thought (hoped?) that we'd learn after the first sting but...

OUCH

... evidently not!

After a good spot of lopping and clearing, we tidied up the new shiny tools and headed off - just missing the rain!

Don't miss next month's edition, as there is no butterfly project in June (we and the Friends of Ham Lands are at Ham Fair instead - you can sign up for that instead though!) - and don't forget to bring bramble- AND nettle-proof attire!

And surely the cover photo would make a great Have I Got News For You caption competition picture!