Hot blue sky

Four squirrels behaving badly, lots of chasing and tussling.  One is clearly hoping to mount someone, anyone.  White spot held her rear flat to the concrete so he couldn't do anything.  During one chase, the two knocked over a third one.  On the feeder, finches and chickadees.

A hoot of an article on what state birds ought to be.  Meanwhile I continue to have no luck photographing either swallows or dragonflies.  An osprey hovered over the lake but didn't come to the creek. Later another osprey passed overhead.  Finally I caught a couple of swallows in silhouette! And I think they may be chimney swifts.  The sound and the tail shape fit. 

A tiger swallowtail flew from treetop to treetop.  A female towhee was all over the yard while a pileated woodpecker went to work on the roof of the neighbor's gazebo. The woodpecker went screeching past just as my camera battery flashed empty.  I wasn't going to waste time changing batteries so most of the woodpecker photos came out fuzzy.

A click beetle landed on me.  I saw another beetle I fear was a borer. The wasps are still mad for rue nectar. 

Wren in the birdhouse

Cardinals, house finches, chickadees, Carolina wrens, the towhee pair, and many squirrels came to breakfast.  Something darted over the pool, dipping down to the water and then rising.  It was either a very big insect or a very tiny bird.  The behavior made me think dragonfly.  A wren that looks almost the same size has been going in and out of the birdhouse. I'm pretty sure it is a house wren - no eye liner.

I think I saw the fox in the next yard, either that or a cat with a very amazing tail.  A brown thrasher serenaded me before coming to inspect the mulch.  I didn't dare move for the camera - it had its beady yellow eye on me.  A Carolina wren and a chickadee also came to the feeder while I was sitting there, about 8' away.  The wasps just love the rue. It makes drops of nectar like a poinsettia does. 

As I ate supper, the Carolina wren came back for a nice, peaceful, sun-warmed bath,   Ma at the spa.  The sky has been the brilliant blue that makes me believe I can see ultraviolet.  Some white clouds formed and dissipated, just enough for texture.  Again I failed to photograph the swallows. 

Early birds

From bed, I could see the shadows of many birds around the feeder.  The rising sun has moved North enough to back light them.  A dapper male towhee came for breakfast.  And, I discovered those early birds had emptied the feeder!  A black swallowtail took an interest in the bolting parsley.  Lots of wasps like the rue and this kind also visit the parsley.  I believe it is a mason or potter wasp. 

I dumped and refilled the hummer feeder and refilled the seed feeder.  White spot sucked up the spilled sugar water. Have I created an addict?

Hot and hazy

Squirrels, chickadees, and Carolina wrens are at the feeder, finches and cardinals are more wary with me outside.  Something crashed through the gladiola overnight, possibly in revenge for the board K nailed to keep the mulch in place. The wren on the back of the feeder soon joined the one in front. 

An osprey and some swallows circled overhead.  Later a male towhee visited.  White spot licked up all the sugar water from the hummer feeder.

More squirrel nonsense

Four squirrels have been busy eating, poking into things, chasing each other, and eyeballing me.  The  geese have tried to visit several times, as have the mallards.  They got hosed.  Carolina wrens seem frantic as they hunt for seeds to feed their young. The usual suspects have also been to the feeder.  I think my drier lint has kept the ants out of the hummer feeder, but where are the hummingbirds?  It is hazier today.  At one point the contrails looked like tic-tac-toe.

It is beginning to cloud over.  The male house finches who usually get along, rose up battling in the air when both came to the feeder.   With the sun on their red feathers they were amazing.  The winner returned to find a Carolina wren had moved in.  He tried to evict the wren, but it stood its ground and poked its longer beak right back.  A wren sang for us from the dead oak limb.

A saddlebags dragonfly buzzed overhead.  Wasps are delighting in the rue nectar.  A skink used a shadow for camouflage I found a ladybug on the window and took it outside. It had too many spots -turns out to be an Asian harlequin ladybug imported as a pest predator.

A Carolina wren got in the garage and could not figure out how to leave.  Apparently its instinct is to fly up even when the way out is clearly visible lower down.   This has happened before with wrens. We left it alone and it went away. The towhee pair visited the mulch briefly toward evening. 

More cool sunshine

Squirrels are very active.  Feeder refilled and hosting cardinals and finches.  Lots of song and cries of "feed me!" A tiger swallowtail flew across the blue sky and a silver spotted skipper fed on the rue flowers.  The parsley flowers are quite as big as Queen Anne's Lace, but more yellow-green.  The Carolina wrens are working hard. An osprey soared upstream. 

The tide is very low this evening.  A dismembered carcase is lying on the floating dock.  I think it was a fish even though I see a feather.  No herons or egrets are fishing, but one little green heron flew right past me.  I can hear nestlings begging in the undergrowth. An LBJ (little grown job) flew past me and landed on a piling just as the camera battery gave up. 

In her column, Mary Reid Barrow mentioned a tree value calculator.   And the VB Virtual Twon Hall is asking about urban trees. 

Cold and sunny

Lots of wind making the cool temperature seem even chillier, but visually it is a beautiful day.  The usual suspects showed up, including the gaggle of geese.  I think it may be ideal for yard work.

A cabbage butterfly flitted among plants without showing any preference. It is still cool and windy. A skink appeared briefly at lunch. 

Cloudy but lively

A wren is still working hard at the feeder.  A titmouse picked at something on the roses.  Later a wren did the same.  Cardinals and chickadees showed up, and then a white breasted nuthatch.  The nuthatch tried to get on the feeder but the cardinal wouldn't budge.  After running up and down the post, it gave up and flew off. Then a tiny squirrel appeared and white spot ran it off.  It kept coming back though it flinched from any other squirrel.

Then the geese showed up.  The goslings and their sitter were in the yard next door, but seven anxious adults marched into my yard.  I herded them over to the fence hoping they would fly over, but they did an end run around me.  One large goose gave a smaller goose a bill slap.  But they did leave before they could add much fertilizer to the grass.  And me in my bare feet. 

The sun is finding occasional gaps in the cloud cover.   Some butterflies flew past to quickly for sure identification.  The nuthatch returned and this time got to eat.  Six little squirrels worked over the mulch and attempted to puzzle out the feeder.  They did not get along well.  I wonder if they're the ones white spot was nursing?  I couldn't get them all into one shot.  And now it is raining, which was not predicted.

The rain is continuing and the temperature has dropped.  A male towhee came to kick the wet mulch around.  The wrens keep working.   The geese made another attempt to visit. It is quite dark for mid-day. And now late afternoon, the sun is shining.  But dark clouds are moving fast.  A scruffy looking squirrel chased off the little ones.  Then a dove landed and startled it.  Meanwhile, a wren is tearing into the roses and rue.  I assume it is gathering insects.  It and another also come to the feeder.  Finches have been holding position there with cardinals and chickadees slipping in.

The clouds were almost gone by sunset.  About the time the light faded from the sky, I startled a raccoon that was on the feeder. 

Deluge

I cannot believe how much rain has fallen this week.  This morning's "frog strangler" (quoting a former employee) has finally slacked off and let the birds get breakfast.  A titmouse showed up for the first time in months.  The Carolina wren replaced it on the feeder.  Then a finch came. 

Another deluge hit around 11am. I returned after the middle of the afternoon by which time I think the rains had ceased.  Two, maybe more, Carolina wrens worked very hard at the feeder.  I think they are feeding young.  Chickadees were persistent too.  A female cardinal is losing head feathers just like last year.  The two male cardinals again contested territory.  And then, a fox walked through the sunshine and the wet across the yard.  It had an escort of screeching crows.  And then I had to leave again.  The clouds were ominous and tornadoes were threatened, but nothing happened. 

Hazy blue

The sun is shining but the sky looks muted.  A small cloud went streaking East.  Not much action, just a squirrel who has been beating on the windows. The female towhee showed up.  Sunlight is blinking as clouds sail past.

Another hot, humid day.  I've seen a skink, a tiger swallowtail and, I think, a palamedes.  Squirrels are still chasing each other.  A blue jay cursed some crows, maybe too close to its nest? 

Another pretty sunset, followed by a hazy, waxing moon.  K saw the fox just before midnight.

Sticky and gray

The humidity is high though it's not much more than room temperature.  The feeder is mostly empty.  Only chickadees are interested.  White spot checked out the mulch.  I heard something on the feeder after dark last night, but it was intact this morning.  An osprey flew downstream.  I twice startled the bird that is nesting on the downspout.  Lots of cabbage butterflies are around. 

At lunch, the short tailed skink dashed madly across the steps.  A tiger swallowtail appeared.  Chickadees appreciated the refilled feeder.  There is intermittent sun and breeze but the humidity is fierce.  Some raindrops fell.  The clouds have turned to dramatic cumulus piles instead of uniform overcast. 

Today the female squirrel with the white spot seemed more interested in the male.  She let him chase her instead of driving him off.  But they got distracted with sunflower seeds.  Then the rain started right about quitting time. It has become a real downpour with thunder and lightning. But it only extended to Ballentine road, then blue sky.  Other people saw rainbows but not I. 

Sun and rain

Sunrise was pretty with buttery clouds but now the sky is almost covered.  The clouds look quilted with bits of blue where the stitching would go.  More hot squirrel action this morning.  A male was following white spot but she may still be nursing.  In any case, she was not interested.  Other squirrels concentrated on breakfast.  I need to deal with the hummer feeder ants.

When I came home a little before noon a dark storm front lay across the Southern sky.  To the North blue sky had piled up cumulus.  An hour and a half later the front reached us and rain began.  Before that, I saw a tiger swallowtail, the short tailed skink, Carolina wrens, chickadees, Cardinals and house finches.  I dumped the hummer juice and candied ants.  I put drier lint around the hook to see if that would stop the ants.  Here's the skink ignoring the dead ants. The cardinals hung around till the rain got too heavy. 

Rain and sun alternated through the afternoon.  When we got home a brown thrasher came to inspect the mulch.  The usual suspects were on the feeder.  Something had carried off the ant corpses.  And geese had been right up to the door, judging by what they left on the patio. 

Jumpy squirrels

White spot's fur looked wet this morning.  She was foraging with a male and flinched every time he got near.  They both ran when a crow flew over.  But then, apparently he got on her last nerve and she chased him around the upper patio, down around the lower, back up and around and off into the grass.  A little later he was back and following a different squirrel and clearly trying to mate.  And yes, it was pretty obvious he was male.

Meanwhile, birds were scarce.  Eventually cardinals, finches and a wren showed up.  Everything is dripping from the rain.  The sun is glaring behind clouds in a white sky. 

Just before lunch, an osprey landed in the trees on our side of the creek.  It flew off when K went out. A skink investigated the window frame.  A tiger swallowtail and a fritillary flew among the trees.  A mallard drake and a nursery of geese stopped in. 

We had several periods of rain, one heavy in mid afternoon.  Afterward, several blue jays came around and some robins flew through.  Chickadees and wrens have been busy.  This one took shelter under a table.

Enough light made it through the clouds to color them at sunset.  This egret is headed North.  I've always enjoyed the phenomenon of clouds in the East going pink at sunset, but tonight it occurred to me that they are the sunset clouds for people further East (sailors in this case), so naturally they would color up just like clouds to the West of me.  How odd to find I still had such a primitive me-centric world view lurking in the back of my mind. 

Rain off and on

It was coming down hard when we got up but it has tapered off and now (9am) the sun just blazed out.  The sky is still heavy to the North   A female towhee didn't wait for the rain to stop, nor did the squirrels.  I am trying to deduce hierarchy amongst the squirrels - who chases who.  White spot seems in the middle.  A Carolina wren showed up, then the other three usual species: cardinal, house finch & chickadee.  I must go see if there is a rainbow.

No such luck.  The sun has been come-and-go and the clouds are still thick. And by 11 the rain returned. It didn't last too long and the wind dried surfaces, but now (2:30pm) it looks and feels like it may begin again.  A female cardinal has been carrying nesting material past the corner of the garage.  I'd like to see the nest if I can avoid disturbing her.  There are two male cardinals around and one is losing feathers. They chase each other, which makes me wonder if the one is molting or if the other has actually pulled feathers out.  A tiger swallowtail and an orange butterfly appeared briefly. 

Then rain again, off-and-on into the evening.  The birds kept feeding.  A mallard drake walked around, swam, tried to shake off the rain, and left.

More bugs than birds

A tiger swallowtail, a fritillary, and a cabbage butterfly are dancing  in the air.  Lots of wasps are looking for dark nooks.  A skink scuttled over to the pool and back.  Squirrels have been to the birdbath since I put water in it.  And the usual suspects have visited the feeder.  It's summer weather - hot & blue with the promise of thunderstorms.

Lunch brought a Carolina wren and a female towhee with little orange - immature?  A dragonfly cruised while a palamedes swallowtail and (I think) a red-spotted purple flitted around the same cherry that the tiger swallowtail was egging earlier. 

Hot

Two lines of goslings were escorted downstream.  No birds showed up so I went to check the feeders at breakfast and it was already hot.  The feeders are now refilled.  I dumped the sugar water and candied ants where I hope they will draw other ants away from the feeder. 

A skink scuttled across the patio and a black swallowtail flitted around.  A tiny gold-green damsel fly butted the window and big black dragonflies with clear wings zoomed past.  Wasps are busy.  In the front yard, I believe I hear cries of hunger from the nest on the downspout.

It clouded over during the afternoon and the wind picked up so it was not so hot.  When I got home at 6pm, I saw skinks.  The squirrel with the white spot was laying down the law to two younger ones.  One tried everything to get into the feeder, but no joy.  White spot discovered where I dumped the ants and hummer juice and licked it for a while.  The male towhee stopped in as did a Carolina wren. 

Hot pursuit

Squirrels have been chasing all morning.  one came up the retaining wall to find another already on top and did a back flip before my eyes.  Mallard drakes slept beside the pool.  A buzzard soared over the creek.  An egret briefly visited the edge. Skinks darted across the patio.  It is much warmer. 

Meanwhile, cardinals, finches, chickadees and wrens dined on sunflower seeds.  Ants and a female hummingbird drank sugar water.  There was an online discussion of how to keep ants out.  Grease, water moats, and cotton balls were suggested.  The moat is not working so maybe I'll try cotton. 

In the front yard, there is a bird nest on a downspout behind a screen of Carolina jessamine which I think belongs to a wren and which I think has a peeping youngster inside.

Still cool

But much sunnier, with red cardinals, finches, and roses. A hummer showed up around 10am.

After lunch, in an almost cloudless sky, the swallows were swooping and soaring.  A skink slithered out of sight under the rosemary and a tiger swallowtail fluttered through the trees.  A male towhee landed in front of me calling to his mate. 

As the sun was setting, a bank of clouds slid in from the West and covered the sky.  

Gray and chilly morning

Still, I think the recent warmth send the sparrows North.  I haven't seen any since last Wednesday.  This morning was all cardinals and squirrels, including Ms White Spot.  It will be interesting to see how old she gets.

The clouds broke up and let the sun out but the breeze has been cool.  At lunch, a bluebird paused on the top of the feeder post.  They like that spot.  Then a pair of brown thrashers hunted in the grass.  A tiger swallowtail flitted around the wild cherry.  The mallards keep landing in the pool.  What I need is a large snapping turtle. 

Late afternoon brought a Carolina wren.  A male cardinal chased something (a skink?) back and forth down by the steps.  White spot likes banana chips - she found a piece I dropped.  The female towhee was in the front yard along with a thrush I didn't recognize. It looks most like a Swainson's, which means it was just passing through. One person on the GBBC FB page said that wood thrushes hang out with towhees. 

Rain overnight

It is gray and dripping, but that doesn't bother the birds.  The male towhee visited along with cardinals, finches, chickadees, and wrens. And it is raining again, mid morning.

It stopped raining for now, so I grabbed the hummer feeder and evicted the ants.  Time to clean and refill it, given the warm weather.

The sky has cleared and a hummingbird noticed the fresh juice.  The towhee came back in the sunshine.  A wren was busy around the birdhouse. 

In the late afternoon, the hummer returned and the female towhee showed up.  Two mallard drakes had some spa time in the pool.  The clouds boiled up in the West, blocking the sun and making beams and shadow streaks. 

Clouding up

The geese tried to stage a comeback but we headed them off.  The feeder is empty again though a hopeful chickadee keeps trying its luck.  A flock of blue jays screamed through.  Roses are blooming now and the azaleas are done.  The first of the yellow flag irises popped open today.  A pair of mating dragonflies zipped past. 

Lunch came with a skink and a black swallowtail.  It got hot again, then there was a brief downpour.  Late afternoon brought out the ospreys.  Cardinals, finches, chickadees, and wrens came to the feeder. The male towhee investigated the mulch before noticing how close I was.  All this time, towering cumulus threatened while the sun and sky were glazed with white.  Strange skies. 

Another bright, warm morning

Chickadees and finches and squirrels came for breakfast.

Lots of afternoon drama with Canada geese who brought a creche of 12 or more goslings to swim.  The older goslings got out ok, but the eight or so young ones couldn't make it despite the height of the water.  One parent attacked me across the pool - very impressive display.  I tried to net the young ones, but the goose attacked the net and almost drowned the one I'd caught.  I cannot lift a full grown goose at the end of a pole!  So then I tried a rock on the top step and that worked.  The half drowned one had difficulty following the rest and got caught at the fence for a long time.  I lost sight of it which I hope means it found its way.  There were eight adults, only two of which were babysitting.

After I hustled them down to the creek, I saw a snowy egret and a yellow-crowned night heron.   There is a bird nesting in the mechanism of the boat lift across the creek.  It may be a starling.  A hair streak flitted down the dock.  The day and the sun got quite hot. K saw a hummer though all I caught was a blur. 

Sun and chickadees

A squirrel was pounding on the window, I don't know why. Chickadees were all I saw on the feeder.

Late morning, a snowy egret landed on the dock, but wouldn't stay for its photo. A black swallowtail laid eggs on the flower buds of the parsley rather than the older leaves.

In the late afternoon, the cloud wisps turned into big cream puffs.   It got quite hot.  Skinks were everywhere - all sizes, red heads or blue tails.  The female towhee came back for another go at the mulch.  She took an interest in one of the skinks which scared it away.  But it's still chickadees on the feeder. 

A fox!

A gray fox came and sat on the patio and surveyed the yard and then left in no particular hurry.  The crows screamed at it but the finch on the feeder paid no attention. Clearly the fox is a nursing female needing a little quiet time. A titmouse visited the feeder and the sparrows are still working in the mulch.

The pool is open and the mallards are happy.  After lunch a cardinal tried to share the feeder with a wren but the wren won.  Clouds built up and rain began around 4:30pm.  The clouds look very dark and dramatic. A female towhee foraged in the mulch with a squirrel.  A bit later sun was shining through the rain, but I could not fine a rainbow. 

When I got home after 7pm, there was a mallard on the garage roof like a weather vane.  Shortly thereafter, the rain really pounded down for a while.  There were waterfalls over the gutters.  It lessened and the female towhee returned briefly.  

Overnight rain, sunny day

Everything drips.  The clouds break apart then squish together, allowing some intermittent sun.  More rain is forecast.  Sparrows are still here.  Cardinals, finches, chickadees, and wrens have been on the feeder.  I glimpsed a hummingbird. This Carolina wren fluffed itself and looks strange. 

It's mostly sunny with wind from the South.  For a day that was supposed to be nothing but rain, it has been lovely.  Skinks are on the prowl at lunch.  I'd love to see one catch its own lunch.  I am still trying to photograph the swallows. No joy. The birdhouse, however, has attracted a couple of wrens.  I think they are house wrens.  They seemed to be arguing, but one was also singing. While I was watching the birdhouse, a skink emerged from the pool cover and scuttled past me. 

A menacing rainstorm blew up in the late afternoon, but by sunset the clouds were breaking up. 

Fog, then sun

Fog drifting upstream early.  A cardinal and a squirrel came for breakfast.  Then the fog lifted around 9am.  The rosemary is nearly finished blooming.  A wren played peek-a-boo in the redwood.

A strange cloud showed up in the north around noon.  It was a lenticular over a classic cumulus.  The wind has shifted and in coming out of the SE after days of NE wind. There are cumulus moving fast while higher ice clouds are nearly stationary.  The sun cast a halo briefly. 

After lunch, it was quite warm.  The usual species  came to the feeder. A dark bodied, clear winged dragonfly circled over the lower patio without perching.  My photos are all blurs.  Later I saw a very small damsel fly.  Also real flies - a greenbottle and a biter. The next generation of black swallowtails has hatched. A young skink darted into a crack. 

I went out on the dock in hopes of photographing the swallows.  Instead, I watched as an osprey with a fish landed in the pines the crows have claimed. One soon spied the diner.  It left to recruit others but came back alone, possibly so it wouldn't have to share the fish.  The osprey fled and the crow pursued down the creek and out of sight. 

Earlier I thought I saw a snowy egret take flight - yellow at the rear, not front.  Then later a very small white heron-type bird landed below the dam.  It was maybe half the size of the great egrets I see there.

The sky clouded back up later and I think a little rain fell but the sun broke through before setting.  It was chased by more dark clouds.  In May, the sun sets behind the pines across the creek upstream, not at the head of the creek as it did at the solstice.  Still, there was drama, and later, wind and rain. 

Back to overcast

Cardinals competing with finches for the feeder while sparrows forage in the mulch.  The wind is still strong.  It chills but it does counteract biting insects. Despite a couple of blinks of sun, the sky is still white at noon. 

At lunch, a crow drank from the pool cover, turning its head on the side to get its beak into the shallow water.  Not much else is happening.  I'd better check the feeder again.  Sigh.  A mallard drake walked across the pool cov3r and down the hill. 

K refilled the feeder and the usual birds showed up for supper.  A wren paused briefly.  A male cardinal picked up spilled seeds on the concrete.   I took no more photos.  It is still gray. 

Curtains of mist

It is only supposed to be partly cloudy but a fine rain is blowing out of the East.  A titmouse was on the feeder but it left and did not return.  The sparrows remain, along with the usual three species: cardinal, chickadee, and house finch.

The Carolina wrens appeared in the afternoon shortly before the sky cleared. A mallard drake stopped for a drink from the pool cover.  Some sort of swallow or martin flew swift and high. The deciduous azalea, or pinxter flower, is blooming and the pecan catkins are almost ready to pollinate.