Up early

I woke and saw dawn's rosy fingers of cloud in the East so I got up and took the brick off the feeder.  A cardinal was on it before I got inside.  Chickadees showed up next.  A Carolina wren preferred to poke around the grass.  A second gladiola stalk was broken - they're in a vase now but I'd prefer to have them on the plant. A flurry of finches arrived after breakfast. 

Clouds have thickened, especially to the South.  The geese paid a short visit.  A skink scampered across the steps.  A tiger swallowtail and a little green heron swooped over the house and me, not at the same time.  The male towhee came for lunch.  A cabbage butterfly is flitting around.  Wasps, bees and beetles are enjoying the parsley.  I saw a Japanese beetle on the rosemary.  Later another skink hid behind the downspout to watch me. 

A skipper fed on the lavender.  I rescued a robber fly from the water and then it either died or pretended to.  The afternoon got grayer and chillier.  While in the pool, I heard a kak-ak-ak ratchety sound and discovered a pair of crows mating up in the pines.  A lot of noise came from the birdhouse, mostly a fussy buzzing. 

At supper, tufted titmice came to the feeder.  I went outside to see the extra big moon that is promised.  The female towhee showed up just as fireflies were beginning.  Then a fox sauntered past.  A little later I saw all four of them scampering around the neighbor's yard, but by then they were only shadows.  The moon still hasn't cleared the trees and it's supposed to have risen over an hour ago.

Finally, around 9:30pm the moon appeared.  I had to go down the drive to see it free of tree limbs.  Instead of craters, I saw a halo from the cloud remnants.