Overcast

There was a terrific thunderstorm around midnight even though the sky was clear at sundown yesterday.   Titmice, a white breasted nuthatch, and downy woodpeckers joined the regulars.  A hummer sniffed at the juice so I guess it was past its sell-by.  An egret fished the dam outfall.  A squirrel atop the seed feeder had a terrible itch.  I glimpsed a pine warbler, the first one since Spring warmed up. It seems to me that they most often appear on rainy days. 

After lunch, a yellow crowned night heron stalked along the bank and hopped up onto the dock.  The wind caught its feathers and tossed leaves in my way.  A mist turned to hard rain in the afternoon and the wind made it chilly. And from somewhere a butterscotch-and-cream dog appeared and galloped through the back yard. 

The sky cleared before supper.  A hummer tried the gladiolus flowers.  Four titmice came for seeds, along with the regulars.  A Carolina wren poked through the mulch rather than fish floating mealworms out of the dish.  I think there was activity around the birdhouse.  A slug climbed the window.