Hot

After breakfast, the black and white cat came around bird watching till I opened the door.  A pair of doves flew off as well.  The hummer feeder was empty. K took it down and shortly thereafter a hummer came to the window as though demanding I get a move on.  So I did, and rehung it myself after bushwhacking through the sunflowers.  Apparently the new batch of juice was acceptable.

The blue sky had a matte quality, and a thin glaze of cloud.  It didn't seem so very hot until I tried to do anything laborious, or work inside the garage.  Several skinks were visible, including one large one that slithered behind the gutter downspout beside me.  The rue put out some flowers that excited bees and wasps.  But the yellow jackets were more interested in scraping wood to make paper in their nest.  I saw lots of butterflies but no dragonflies: three different swallowtails, a cloudless sulphur, and a painted lady.  Several small spiders needed rescue from the pool. 

I startled a heron and later an egret flew upstream.  One of them had left large splotches on the patio.   An interesting turd packed full of crab bits was also left on the patio last night.  Raccoon is my guess.  The hibiscus put out another flower today.  A brown thrasher hopped the fence and later a couple of mockingbirds paid a brief visit.  I heard blue jays and distant crows. 

As twilight fell, the hummers chased each other and an adult cardinal fed a fledgling while an older juvenile worked on the big sunflower seed head. Sunset was quite red.