Hot!

The day began with some mist and less than the usual birdsong.  White throats were out in force and warblers were battling over the suet.

The sun burned through by mid-morning.  At lunch time a black swallowtail and a cabbage white flitted around.  The swallowtail spent her time egging the rue as there isn't much parsley after the hard winter.  Canada geese had a commotion that involved a threesome.  The temperature aspired to summer heights.

The noon haze congealed into afternoon overcast with occasional moments of sun.  A gusty wind moderated the humid heat.  Even though it's been dry I found a mushroom.  I've never seen sassafras blossoms before, so here they are.   The red maple has gone to seed.  Money plant blossoms peeked out of the azaleas and violets poked up out of the grass.  Bees swirled around the Carolina jessamine.  Two kinds of paper wasp nibbled on the wood slats of the bench - red with yellow trim and black with red.  A yellowjacket looked for a nesting spot.  The wind grounded a black swallowtail, maybe the same one as earlier.

Downy woodpeckers got up the gumption to ignore me.  I saw a kingfisher streak by and heard it thereafter.  A flock of birds in the trees made a more musical rattle.  Unfortunately they were always back-lighted so all I know is they were dark birds with lighter beaks.  Then a little bluegray gnatcatcher started zipping around across the pool from me. 

There were lightning flashes after dark but no rain.