Moist

The air is hazy with damp and everything is wet from yesterday's rain.  Occasionally the sun leaks through. At dawn, the tint on the clouds showed there were gaps in the cover, but now the sky seems more uniformly cloudy.  The fledgling cardinal was first at the feeder.  Chickadees and titmice tussled over a place on the perch.  The finches then joined in.  A squirrel buried a pecan in my flowerbed.

Mid-morning the sky seems to be clearing.  And by noon, it has become very nice.  I rescued a large cicada from the pool, also some beetles and a woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata).  Sulphur butterflies are enjoying the morning glories, which are still wide open.

Big dark clouds have moved in, mostly blocking the sun.  An osprey is circling the creek.   A mature tiger swallowtail caterpillar on a cherry seedling showed up because it is on a brown leaf.  It does a goofy imitation of a green snake - it humps up its front half to look like a head and reveals a smile line under the eye spots. I'm wrong: the 4th instar is green but the final one is brown, says Wikipedia. 

Gentle rain

Everything is wet so either it rained all night or the rain was heavier earlier.  Lots of chickadees were frustrated by one aggressive Carolina wren on the feeder.  Some house finches dropped in later. However, they are also feasting on dogwood berries.  Last night flying ants swarmed the window attracted by the light.  This morning they were all caught in a web. 

The morning glories bloomed all day in the gray light.  And the rain kept up most of the day.  A kingfisher flew across the creek toward evening. 

Dew on windows

Must be warmer outside than in,  The cardinal fledgling was bullying a chickadee.

A small green mantis appeared on the outside wall around lunch.

Golden dawn

Little cloud puffs were tinted by the rising sun.  Titmice and chickadees arrived early, followed by cardinals.  Doves and squirrels foraged under the feeder.  The morning glories were bouncing with visitors.

At lunch in Norfolk, a mockingbird posed in a crape myrtle by the parking lot.  When I got home, the pruning was all finished.  The trees look weird, but they don't touch the house any more.

Warmer

But the patio is cold to bare feet.  A riot of magenta morning glories are attracting skippers.  The flowers appear blue in shade to the camera. 

Cloudless blue

I could see dawn in the rear view mirror.  It was chilly.  I've been running around while the temperature has been warming.  Arriving home, I was greeted by an orange butterfly that disappeared before I could identify it.  Crows seemed to be heckling the pecan-stealing squirrel. 

A very quiet day.  A jay few around.  I discovered a puffball on the West side of the house.  It puffed most satisfyingly.  I also found the remnants of fall gladiolas that must have bloomed a week or so ago.  Grasses are blooming including spartina.  Leaves are beginning to hint at fall color.  What is the fascination that yellow-jackets have for pilings?  Salt? 

Chilly over night

Lots of clouds are sailing through, and each drops the temperature and raises the wind.  I was out earlier and stopped at the local park on the way home. There I annoyed the geese and saw a couple of distant egrets.  The water was dancing with whirligig beetles and water striders, and minnows breaking the surface to catch them. Two male pond hawk dragonflies fussed over the best perch. 

I found a mess of tangled fishing line someone could not bother to throw away.  When I went to put my hand on a fence post I found it occupied by a ferocious-looking jumping spider with glowing green fangs. 

Breezy and cool

Chickadees were busy on the feeder.  Doves visited, including the one feeding its fledgling.  Crows mobbed something in the pines across the creek.

Both the sunflower seedlings and the portulaca are volunteers.  I'm surprised four sunflower seeds escaped the likes of this dove, not to mention squirrels and all the other foragers.  I wonder if there is still time for them to bloom.  

A red spotted purple posed on the bark of the oak.  The rather pretty little dark bug banded with red is an adult spittlebug.  The rosemary is covered with the juveniles and their bubble hideaways.  It is windy and chilly except in the sun. 

Fall

Nothing on the feeder, but there are seeds waiting.  The morning glories bounce when a bee enters.  Curious that what is a meal to a bee is sex to the flower. Finally some finches.

Camera is going in for a cleaning so the blog may not be illustrated for a few days. Well, that was a dud!  Camera store's not there any more.


Meanwhile, mid-morning the mouse came out for a drink from the birdbath.  It then foraged around through the feeder droppings. 

The day has been warm and breezy. 

Morning sun

Finches, cardinals, and chickadees all arrived at once and started to squabble.

I tried to grow sunflowers for the goldfinches but no luck.  Now, too late in the year, four seedlings have popped up under the feeder.  Mimosa and princess sprouts keep coming up all over.  The dawn redwood is starting to get a copper tinge.  The wild blue morning glories are nearing the end of their blooming, I think, but the purple domestic ones are going strong.

The sky is still blue.  A mockingbird posed on the roof corner.  A dove fed a fledgling - it looked like they were killing each other.  Several butterflies, swallowtails, sulphur, monarch, have passed through. A red spotted purple was entranced with a cherry sprout.  A heron flew right over the patio and I heard a kingfisher. 

I startled a brown thrasher that was under the azaleas.  It moved to the wild cherry suckers that are coming up around a stump.  When I followed I found the most amazing fungus growing beside the oak stump that we had cut down last year, before the storm that blew down the bigger tree..  It is called a weeping conk, Inonotus dryadeus.  And that reminds me, yesterday I found a different hard polypore where the pecan used to be.  I believe it is Ganoderma lucidum.

I finally found the yellowjacket nest quite near the same stump.  It's a wonder I didn't step on it.  

Quiet morning

Breezy and sunny, though there are clouds, the reflection on the creek is blurred.  Cardinals, finches, and chickadees on the feeder.  A dove basked down below.  A bumblebee tried to get in the portulaca flowers but they weren't open for business yet.

Toward evening a mouse explored the patio.  Then there was another glorious sunset, this time very golden.  The creek was still and reflective, but the camera could not settle on the exposure since the reflection had much less light.  Egrets and herons flew to their night roosts through purple clouds.  

Gloomy and gusty

A streamer of geese flew downstream.  A few bumblebees are visiting flowers.

The cooler weather is bringing wildlife inside, including this roach I found waiting at the door.  In the summer they live in the mulch. My guess is that it's an American cockroach.  The exterminator agrees.

Birds showed up in the late morning: a dove, a bluejay, the fledgling cardinal, and some finches.  The cardinal pushed the finches off the feeder.  Its beak is starting to turn adult orange.

The highly complex webs in the azalea by the patio are made by basilica spiders.  They pull an orb into a dome and then hang it from a patternless complex of struts like a cobweb. Above it is one thick cord of silk from which hang the egg sacs. 

Toward evening the sky cleared somewhat and the clouds were a lovely pink at sunset.  

The usual suspects

Chickadees, titmice, finches, and cardinals jostling for a place at the perch.  The cardinal fledgling has become a bully, hunkered down in the middle and sharing with no one.  Then a Carolina wren showed up.  What is its fascination with the underneath workings of the grill?  Does it just like to be under something?

Cumulus wisps swept past higher stationary clouds on a strong wind out of the South south west.  It got dark after noon and the wind kicked up and then rain blew through.  I saw wild hibiscus blooming in the ditch by Dominion Boulevard. 

Gray morning

Chickadees and doves are up.

Geese were out blocking traffic.  The sky grew progressively darker through the morning and sprinkled a bit. 

The evening sky was full of drama, and some rain, heading into Norfolk.  A yellow crowned night heron was patrolling the Lafayette at the Y.   

Lots of birds

A mockingbird flew into the beauty berry.  A blue jay went to the oak tree.  A brown thrasher enjoyed the sun on the roof.  Under the feeder, a dove tried to outface a squirrel by raising its wings.  Didn't work.  Another squirrel went for dogwood berries.  A hungry hummer hit the sugar water and the morning glories.  Chickadees started on the seed feeder early.  Then the fledgling cardinal showed that it has learned what the feeder is for.  House finches arrived with at least one fledgling still crying to be fed.

Cloud cover is moving in from the West.  These pressure waves are parallel to the direction of movement, not perpendicular like wrinkles when you push on a cloth.

Maxine the husky came by and tried to drench me.  A dove foraged close enough to me that I could hear its throaty purr-like noises.  A red-spotted purple butterfly checked out the morning glories, but they'd already closed up.

The creek is smooth and reflective under the gray sky.   Around 4pm, ripples in the pool led me to rescue a cicada.   Then a light rain began and made more ripples.  Six jets flew past in formation so I guess there must be an airshow today.  I saw one or two on a couple of days this past week.  Not my kind of bird. 

Clouds and crows

A murder of crows indeed, settling in one tree, then another, and discussing it the whole time.  A Carolina wren explored the mechanics of the gas grill right outside the window.  Titmice and chickadees traded places on the feeder.  Clouds keep zooming out of the North, making the sun blink on and off.  It is very windy and gusty, and now and then looks like rain.  Then blue sky returns. 

A buzzard circled overhead, sliding on the wind.  A kingfisher announced its successful landing on a piling.  The feeder birds have been selfish and cranky, pushing each other off the feeder.  I'm still seeing swallowtails. And I was buzzed by a cicada. 

Dewy morning

The creek was still and everything was dew covered, including spider webs.  I saw my first "handkerchief web" of the season.  The front yard is strangely bright without the oak.  The sky is blue with contrails.

I have been hearing pattering and gnawing in the attic and the exterminator says roof rats.  So, it appears we need to get rid of the fig which provides them access, and a snack.  This has not been a good couple of years for our trees.  (The exterminator also chased off my spiders when I wasn't looking.  Phooey.)

An egret and a kingfisher were down on the creek.  The green iridescent fliers are probably insects, not hummers. I saw both a cicada and a huge June bug.  A red spotted purple is still exploring the cherries and the swallowtails are still around. 

I should have taken my camera.  Sunset was gorgeous.  As I got on 264, in the rearview mirror, Norfolk appeared to be on fire.  I hoped to get home before it faded, but it was nearly done by the time I scrambled down to the creek.  And then the battery quit. 

Web glowing at dawn

Outside the breakfast window, a large orb web has been freshly constructed.  Condensation from the roof drips past it and moisture on the silk is catching the early light.  Finches and chickadees are up. 

Threatening clouds moved in mid-morning.  In the grocery parking lot, (without a camera) I saw a monarch banging against an amber tail light that was glowing from reflected light.  Was it trying to feed, mate, or fight?  It gave up after a half dozen sorties. 

The pin oak is gone.  Mr Brooks showed me an emerald ash borer he'd captured, a beautiful insect to be so destructive.  In other sad news, a cardinal fledgling broke its neck on a patio window. 

Sad news about oak

A rabbit was nosing around under the sakaki.  A squirrel went by with another four pecans.  A dove took a nap beside the birdbath.  The usual suspects visited the feeder. 

The pin oak tree that grew from a volunteer in the shrubbery at the corner of the driveway is mortally ill.  After leafing out this spring, the foliage on the driveway side turned brown.  This has slowly spread.  Brooks says the tree cannot be saved - it is in a decline from boring insects.  He pointed out sawdust at the base of the tree. 

It is always sad to lose a tree, but this one was ours.  I saw it when the acorn germinated and decided it was in a nice location between two big prickly bushes.  Eventually we took the bushes out because an idiot in a truck rammed the one on the other side of the driveway.  We replaced with azaleas and a crape myrtle, which will probably be delighted to have their day in the sun.  But that oak was the measure of our time here on this property and would have been our legacy to the street.  It also harbored mistletoe which may have weakened it but delighted me. 

This evening the cardinal family was back. the fledglings are so big that one on the feeder perch with dad was too heavy for the counterweight.  The dove brought friends for an evening nap. 

Another beautiful morning

The early sun revealed a spider web.  The spider is cocooned in a little silk hideaway up where the wall meets the overhang.  Lots of hungry birds showed up: cardinals, finches, chickadees, titmice and hummers.  The squirrel carried another two pecans past me despite the fact that the door was open and it should have smelled my presence.

A brown thrasher paused to watch the passing scene.   Two hummers contested a place at the feeder.

 A family of cardinals wanted an evening snack.  The two fledglings got into a tiff.  I suspect the parents are about finished feeding them. 

September morning

The air is cool and breezy without humidity.  The sky is mostly blue with puffs.  The morning glories are bright and bees are feasting.  Five doves came to breakfast.  The cardinal fledgling didn't know what to make of them.  Then a squirrel arrived and they all went off in a huff.  Eager finches jockey for a place on the feeder with chickadees.  Fresh juice awaits a hummer.

A bird I think is a song sparrow has been hopping around.  It looks like its beak is damaged.  Later photos reveal a tumor like the one the eagle chick had a couple of years ago.  I'm assuming this is the result of avian pox.  I sent the information in for Mary Reid Barrow's column.

Cardinals, doves, and finches have been ubiquitous.  A palamedes swooped through the patio several times while my hands were full.  Other butterflies are busy over by the cherry.  I caught a glimpse of the tail of a skink. A red spotted purple and a hairstreak both defeated the camera. I think I saw a monarch as well. 

Lots of sky drama as clouds pass and make sunbeams.  It is quite windy and that along with the lower temperature is slowing the butterflies and keeping them lower.  I finally got an identifiable photo of an Eastern Comma butterfly.  A mockingbird started in on the beauty berries. 

The spartina is blooming, as much as grass ever blooms. Something across the creek upset the crows and a huge flock gathered, including some jays, to screech at whatever it was.  This went on for an hour.  I never saw what they were after but it was high up a tall pine. After I gave up and left the dock, a female kingfisher perched on a piling. 

Cold front came through

I missed yesterday between meetings and errands.  Ominous clouds turned to rain after dark.  A katydid clung to the window, attracted by the light inside I suppose.  It rained all night but seems to be tapering off now.  The feeder has been busy. Yes, the sun is out and the clouds are pulling apart, briefly - gray is back. 

It continued come-and-go till lunch, but now it is quite blue.  And cool!  Butterflies are flitting around.  Oh frass, clouds have returned.

The temperature is lovely, but too cool to encourage swimming.  A juvenile night heron is occupying the tallest piling. 

Cooler and sunny

Foggy windows held a surprise: a slaty skimmer dragonfly was hanging on the screen.  But my photos were fogged too.  The sun is up and a bumblebee is crawling into the morning glories.  The squirrel went by with another mouthful of pecans.

Lots of butterflies are around.  I saw a palamedes and a tiger swallowtail, a buckeye, a monarch, and a red spotted purple laying eggs on the cherry.   I disassembled the contents of the birdhouse - lots of feathers along with the sticks.

Chasing butterflies, I came upon an alutacea bird grasshopper in the cherry.  I never saw one before.  It was huge.  I suspect it is one of the buzz-makers that doesn't sound like a cicada.  The butterfly that I was chasing turns out to be a snout butterfly.  A juvenile night heron perched on the fish-cleaning sink on the dock. I found one of the thread waist wasps in the pool and had to rescue it twice.  If it fell in a third time I don't want to know. 

Sunny morning didn't last

The squirrel with the white spot was foraging under the feeder when another squirrel showed up.  They tussled and one levitated straight up.  White spot won.  Somewhat later the pecan thief scampered past, and lo, it was the white spot. 

All the usual birds were out today: dove, Carolina wren, hummer, cardinal house finch, chickadee, and titmouse.  I saw an egret across the creek and then I thought I heard a heron in the trees, but it was a crow mimic.  I could hear jays too.  It is very breezy, even gusty.

Several kinds of little beige to brown moths are feeding on the rosemary in daylight. The insect buzz is louder than the wind gusts in the trees.

The sun was gone by lunch and heavy, dark clouds began to rain around 2pm.  The rosemary feeders kept at it as long as they could.  It's coming down hard and continues to be windy.   

The rain slowly dissipated by 6pm and the birds came back for supper: Carolina wren, cardinals including two fledglings, chickadees, finches and titmice.  

Felonious squirrel

It scampered by with FOUR pecans stuffed in its mouth.  By the time I grabbed the camera and zoomed, it was gone.  Hummers are happy.  Titmice, finches, chickadees and cardinals are as well.  The morning glories put on an early show.

Big cottony cumulus are sailing out of the WSW.  The rosemary is humming.  Black thread-waisted wasps have joined the nectar crew.  Two got into a tussle today and rose up circling the way butterflies and dragonflies do.  A female slaty skimmer dragonfly is maintaining her vigil on the perch.

Busy feeders

Finches and cardinals have discovered the seed feeder is refilled.  An hummer appeared and was escorted off by another.  A yellow sulphur crossed the creek.

I intended to photograph the female widow skimmer in the background and instead I caught a cloud of dancing midges.  If I'd been trying, it never would have happened!  Butterflies and skippers are all over the yard.  A squirrel came off the roof and landed on the grass with a mouth full of TWO pecans.  

I think I glimpsed a zebra swallowtail.  Some kind of fritillary got a drink from the pool.  A brilliant emerald pondhawk zoomed directly toward the window at the same time.  I dithered and got neither.  Horace's duskywing continues to feed on the rosemary.  A leaf legged bug (true bug - Hemiptera) was on the rose out front, probably a bad sign. 

Clouds, fogged windows

Finches breakfasted early.  A dove perched on the feeder post.  A squirrel stopped for a drink.  Sulphurs and a tiger swallowtail passed through. The humidity is stifling.  A morning glory is emerging through a hole in a leaf. 

Rain started after lunch.  It cleared somewhat.  A finch kept trying to find something to eat so K refilled the seed feeder and titmice swarmed it.  I will replenish the hummer juice.

Maxine the husky came for another swim and soaked the patio shaking off.  This time I was able to reach her owner.  I've spent the day sorting old photos to digitize. 

Light overcast

The clouds have texture and there are shadows. And there is no condensation on the windows.  At 9am all the morning glories are finished.  Finches and chickadees have been on the feeder.  The male finches are much faded.  The females still take precedence on the perch.  A hummer came by briefly.  A dove foraged and a wren was busy in the morning glories

A little sun is leaking through and a sulphur fluttered by.  I hear jays above the insect chorus.  Crows and gulls as always are around.  Lots of bees and wasps, but I don't believe I've seen a yellow jacket all summer. It is getting darker as the day wears on toward noon. A little green heron was on the dock. 

I removed the birdhouse from the bush and tucked it into the bench to air - it's a bit funky.  Inside it is packed with sticks and some feathers making a deep basket in a rear corner.  It is beyond reuse.  A Carolina wren bid it goodbye. 

A palamedes swallowtail keeps passing through when I don't have the camera handy. A fritillary of some sort paused briefly on the rosemary.  More sulphurs and a cabbage passed by.  Mary Reid Barrow's column today was on butterflies. 

The sky separated into blue and creampuff in the afternoon.  And then one of the puffs rained on me while the sun shone.  I rescued a variegated fritillary caterpillar from the pool.  It was on the bottom and I was just cleaning, but then it twitched and came back to life.  The black hairs give the appearance of antenna but I don't think caterpillars have antenna. 

Squirrels are feasting on dogwood berries. 

Sun, humidity and finches

The sky is more white than blue but the sun is bright.  The condensation has evaporated. A hummer visited.  A tattered pair of adult cardinals and a juvenile have been around.  Some kind of drama shook the cedar at the corner of the patio.  Two doves foraged - parent and offspring?  Sulphur butterflies and an orange one I didn't see clearly flitted about.  A caterpillar was on the screen.  It looks like a fall webworm, but then why isn't in its web? 

It looked like rain in the early afternoon but then the sun came back.  All three swallowtail species are around including one black with a lot of yellow on the wings.  The hummer ran off some finches that were already nervous about me.  One had perched on the hummer's feeder.  A rather handsome black and red roach was floating in the pool, definitely an outdoor species.  A female widow skimmer perched for a while. 

The sky to the West got very interesting toward evening with solar illumination coming through cloud gaps and lighting up haze.