I left before dawn for an early meeting. It was misty, almost foggy, and yet windy. When I got home, I noticed the fence gate was open so I walked around the West side of the house. The mahonia was blooming and making yellow jackets happy. The garden spiders had all disappeared. A large leafed plant that may have been a volunteer that came with the Kerria japonica suddenly had big white flowers. It looked very tropical but it survived last winter.
But the big surprise on my way back was stinkhorns. It's always interesting to discover what spores have infested the fresh mulch. We had birdsnest fungi last fall and while we did have stinkhorns a while back, it was a different species.
A yellow crowned night heron prowled the shoreline. I had assumed they were all headed South. Also, a hummer appeared, perhaps a migrant from further North. The wind kept the tide high and made waves on the creek. A band of rain blasted through around 3pm. Eventually it passed and the clouds opened up a little for some brief moments of sun. Then another rain band blew through at 4pm. The wind drove the rain against the glass, spoiling photography. It also blew so many leaves into the pool they clogged the skimmer. I could see bugs rafting on the leaves but couldn't be sure what they were.
Titmice and the usual seed eaters came out in between the rains. A juvenile male cardinal got no sympathy from adult birds. The hummer chased away a titmouse. A Carolina wren was pecking something off the rosemary. I saw a great blue heron and a snowy egret downstream. When it got dark I went out to close the seed feeder and a roach got in. I tried to get it to go back out, but in the end I had to swat it. It was huge and reddish and didn't look full grown - an outdoor species that was confused inside and not very fast. The shamrock spider hung in its web outside my window despite the gusts. I did not check on the Argiope in the cherry.
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