Gray sky

The house wren is making frequent visits home and the Carolina wren visited the feeder.  Three titmice squabbled over the feeder, then four female finches did the same.  Chickadees sneaked in while they fussed.  A brown thrasher lounged under the dogwood where the birdhouse hangs.  A hummingbird buzzed all around the sakaki, then checked out the wilted gladiolas, and totally ignored the freshly filled feeder.

Something yellowish banged on the glass - it might have been a cicada killer or a clearwing moth.  Yesterday, I saw it behaving more like a cicada killer. Actually, the Carolina Sphinx Moth seems to be the best fit for the markings I glimpsed.

The sun is out, mid morning, but the sky is still gray.   A skink came out from under the rosemary and hurried across the patio. I've seen a cabbage butterfly, a black and a tiger swallowtail. A huge May beetle settled on the wall by the porch light. A red-bellied woodpecker investigated the oak.  Then it flopped down on a branch with wings outspread. A robin visited.  For all their commonness, I don't see them that often.  An osprey circled.