Hazy sky

Carolina wrens joined the finches and cardinals at breakfast.  They emptied the feeder. I'm thinking that a raccoon must be raiding it at night.  A raccoon, unlike a squirrel, could sit on top and reach into the feeding slots.  So, either I put only one day's worth of seeds in and refill each morning, or I bring in the feeder every night and put it out every morning.  Hmmm.  K came up with a third solution - hang a weight from the perch at night.

Dragonflies and wasps were busy and a small skipper butterfly paused briefly.  I saw a female pondhawk, a female widow skimmer, a golden skimmer, and something fast and red. The male towhee announced himself with a piercing whistle.  The hummer appeared while I had the feeder inside to clean.  She hovered exactly where it was supposed to be, then checked the gladiolas and lavender and left.

A skink made its way from the steps to the house wall.  The spider is still handing out beside the gardenias.  An egret is fishing under the bulkhead.  The chaste tree is budding. An osprey swooped overhead.  A serving-plate size turtle just came to the front door.  It has beautiful red markings on a smooth carapace and a red edge to its lower shell.  Its face is striped with buff.  I believe it is a northern red-bellied cooter.

I waited while the cardinals got their bedtime snacks and then hung a half brick from the feeder.  We shall see if that prevents it from being depleted in two days.  Low hanging dark wisps of cloud like smoke sailed West while higher up a thicker pattern of puffs and streaks moved East.  Sunset brought lovely pink tints to the clouds and fireflies below.   A couple of hours after dark, something rattled the feeder and set the brick swinging.