And rain

It was just a mist at dawn but it soon became a hard rain.  A female towhee got breakfast from the feeder before the rain picked up.  The regulars looked drenched on the feeder.  A Carolina wren briefly checked the patio for goodies.  The tightly furled buds on the yellow flag iris across the pool look like candle flames.  The rain became a heavy downpour around 10:30am and dropped around 2".

The rain finished right around noon.  A Carolina wren climbed the bricks around the bedroom window.  Meanwhile the iris buds had popped open.  I saw a brown thrasher, then a gray fox that was also interested in the brown thrasher.  But I wasn't fast enough with the camera and only caught the flank of the fox.  Later a titmouse joined the regulars, now dried out. Three goldfinches landed in the saltbush down by the creek. 

During the afternoon the sky cleared and the temperature dropped.  I saw a cabbage butterfly, then a tiger swallowtail.  The regulars made up for lost time.  For a while, the sky was striped, then some cumulus puffs reappeared for sunset.