Rain

Titmice acted silly at breakfast.  The sky was overcast, then a line of darker clouds emerged in the Southwest.  They arrived around 11am and produced a "frog-strangler" over the library.  But the rain abated somewhat by the time we got home and judging by various containers, not that much water fell.

As the rain tapered off, a hummer hurried to refuel.  Then she sat in the dogwood to work on getting the water out of her feathers.  The cardinals had begun to molt and looked especially bedraggled. 

The afternoon was very windy, which dried off wet surfaces. Some sun alternated with dark clouds.  Doves were not discouraged by the wind.  The black swallowtail was back.  It startled an orange butterfly that I didn't get a good look at.  A couple of southern purple mint moths hopscotched around on the pavement. 

I rescued a green June beetle.  A female great blue skimmer braved the wind.  A big blue-tailed skink kept getting in my way like a cat.  And I was delighted to find an "orange dog" on the rue.  It looked ready to make a chrysalis. 

The rain came back after 6pm with thunder and continued in waves into the night.