Busy

A warm (70s), sunny day that got away.  The only thing I saw was a flock of crows on the new shelter for homeless people.  Ominous.

Bald eagle

All I saw while I was inside was a yellow rumped warbler in the dogwood and it flew before I got it in focus.  But when I went outside at noon, an eagle was circling over the water.  The sky was intensely blue and I was warm in the sun except when the wind gusted.

Then I discovered a bold jumper spider sunbathing and keeping an eye on me.  Invertebrate meals must be getting scarce, but I saw yellow jackets, small dun moths, and maybe another spider.

A mockingbird visited the beauty berries.  Blue jays went after something along the shoreline.  Wrens popped around in the bushes.

Butterflies

The day started out pretty nippy but warmed up nicely in the bright sunshine. I saw a stinkbug on the window and unfortunately let it get away since it was one of the brown marmorated invasive stinkers.

A very tattered red spotted purple butterfly clung to leaves to ride out wind gusts.  (The wind felt warm to me at first, but that didn't last.)  It was still around when I got back around 4pm.  Meanwhile, an American Snout butterfly soaked up sun in the red cedar.  And when I wandered over to take a picture of the milkweed by the fence, a question mark butterfly on the nandina with the sun coming through its wing like stained glass.  I also caught a glimpse of a monarch on the next street over where a front yard is a jungle with tropical milkweed making round pods. 

A pale yellow warbler with faint streaks hopped around in the cherry and found something that it tugged off twigs which puzzled me as the wild cherries long since withered.  I also saw a yellow rumped warbler over at the Lynnhaven House.

Caterpillar lecture

It was a nice Fall day with fluffy clouds blowing East and seasonable temperatures.  The shaded creek glittered sunlit reflections in the early morning.  There weren't any clouds till later.  At noon the tide was quite high despite the wind direction.  According to Mary Reid Barrow, this is going to be an irruptive year for red-breasted nuthatches.  The redwood made plenty of cones so we're ready. 

In the afternoon I went to a lecture on caterpillars by David Wagner and bought his Caterpillars of Eastern North America which is far to heavy for a field guide.  He had some fascinating videos and anecdotes.  The program was hosted by the Butterfly Society of Virginia.  However, I don't think I will join. 

When I got home, I went outside but the wind was already getting chilly.  I heard first a heron, then a kingfisher but didn't see either.  There were patches of color on trees besides the dogwoods. 

Gray

A slug traversed the window at breakfast.  There was a bit of mist around noon but no real rain.  This was the day for measuring the "King Tide" but I never figured out the phone app. 

The overcast began to break up in the late afternoon.  I saw a small yellow fly or wasp and a milkweed bug nymph.  They seemed sluggish from the cold. 

Cold rain

The newspaper carried on like this was a major storm but it was just a heavy rain.  Ob the way to my lunch meeting I saw a mockingbird just a couple of yards down the street.  I often see one there.  Hours later in heavier rain a flock of geese were nibbling at the gutter water there.  There was a lot of water in the streets but no real flooding, probably because of the tide cycle and lack of high winds.  The wind eventually picked up well after dark. 

White sky

At breakfast, fluffy clouds were tinted by the rising sun.  By noon the sky had become hazy and when I got out of my meeting, the sun was muted by a thin overcast. 

Although the air was cold I wandered down to the dock to see what wasinthe sink that had fascinated a squirrel some time ago.  The drain was plugged and the sink half full of water.  The Argiope spider that was in the spartina left a couple of egg sacks in a saltbush.  Lots of periwinkles stuck out from the spartina stems.  I saw a bird I think was a yellow rumped warbler. 

Chilly wind

The sun shone and there were just enough clouds to provide interest.  But all I saw were cardinals and chickadees.  The house finches have disappeared.  And I haven't seen any other birds either at the feeder or at the berries.  A study of Carolina chickadees found that if the non-native plant biomass is greater than 30% they don't reproduce.  By that measure, I'd say we are OK. 


I did see cormorants commuting home. 

Warmer

Fluffy clouds slipped away leaving a clear sky.  One milkweed bug was left on the plant.  I harvested seeds but they may not be viable.  I did get a couple of photos of the fluff floating in the air.  I didn't see any birds or other insects.despite the warm sun. 

Sunny

A Carolina wren visited at lunch.  I caught glimpses of it for the last several days but today was the first time I got a picture.  The tropical milkweed's seed pod was already empty, though it was thin and may never have held seeds.  Brushstroked cirrus clouds blew East but it was not windy near the ground.  The leaves on the beautyberry drooped, exposing the berries.  A mockingbird shot out of the bush when I looked away.  A yellow jacket appeared to find something edible on an azalea leaf.  An earwig rafted on an oak leaf.  Squirrels were curious as usual.  Turtles soaked up sun on the lake. 

Wet then windy

Saturday I left before dawn for Richmond. Rain fell the whole way there but the sky finally cleared in the late afternoon.  I was chilly all day. We got to the HRBT around sunset and there were enough clouds to catch color.  A fuzzy moon rose and gradually grew sharper.

Sunday was windy.  Clouds roared out of the North while the trees thrashed. The trees looked green because the wind tore off any leaves that were beginning to color.  A few crows battled the wind and mallards and geese were out on the creek, but no other wildlife was visible. I've noticed that the mallards only seem to come around in the morning before the geese appear. 

Two more beautiful days

I missed most of Thursday.  At the Rec Center, I noticed that someone had knocked down a sizable paper wasp nest and dead wasps were scattered around it.  Seems like they could have waited since it is already Fall.  A brown grasshopper hopped into the murder scene.

When I got home, I saw a Cooper's hawk shoot across the back yard.  I sat outside for a short while - it was chilly.  And apparently the hawk had been up in the oak waiting for me to leave so the birds would come back to the feeder.  It gave up and zoomed past again, and neither time did I get a photo.  The milkweed bugs were forcibly dispersed by the guy with the leaf blower.  So I went out front to take pictures of the moon.

Friday, the birds came to the feeder but were very anxious so I suspect the hawk was around.  The milkweed pods were ripening fast but I don't know how many viable seeds the milkweed bugs left.  The scarlet climber was setting seed.  The pool was filling with leaves now that it's too cold for me to clean from inside.  The sky was an intense blue, unmarked by even a contrail.  For some reason the birds haven't been feeding on the beauty berries.  The hackberry was loaded too. 

Two kingfishers passed over the house quarreling and moving so fast they were gone before my brain caught up.  A couple of buzzards circled.  A flock of geese complained loudly about the dog across the creek.  They all took off leaving a short-lived trail on the water.  An egret also took off from its perch on the lake. 

And then a gulf fritillary landed in a dogwood and posed nicely before fluttering South over the house.

Two days worth

Somehow yesterday escaped. It was cold and gray.  The milkweed bugs were about the only visible wildlife. 

Today began the same, but the overcast blew away during the afternoon.  It was warmer, but not enough to tempt me into the water.  I walked around to the fig tree but the only things I saw were a cobweb spider with hatching babies and a flock of cormorants. 

Summery

As I sat outside, a yellow kneed wasp found my foot attractive.  I became a bit anxious when it showed no sign of leaving, but eventually I was able to persuade it to hop off. A different Polistes wasp was fascinated with the scarlet climber.  The milkweed bugs were in a huddle, both winged and younger ones. 

The air was warm but the pool water had taken a chill from two brisk Fall days.  But it was good to get back in!  A cricket was rafting but not enjoying it.  Neither was a wheel bug that had been sucked into the skimmer. 

I rescued a small, delicate stick-like insect from a leaf raft.  It had a pose like a praying mantis and the shape of a walkingstick, but it could have been an assassin bug nymph.

Cloudy

Strange cloud formations occurred throughout the day.  A few sprinkles fell around noon and the day stayed cool.  I was inside a lot and without the camera in the morning.  Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.  It may be my last chance to swim outdoors this year. 

Cold wind

It was cloudy much of the day and even cooler than yesterday, so the wind felt raw.  Maybe the temperature prompted the milkweed bugs to do their final molt because they were mostly winged but still clustered together.

I found another black swallowtail caterpillar on the rue.  An egret perched on the snag over the lake.  Something dark and unidentifiable floated in the creek.  Sunset was very colorful as the clouds finally broke apart. 

After the storm

The temperature and the humidity plunged. Small dead limbs came down but nothing really big.  We got about 3/4" of rain.  As I ate breakfast, a Cooper's hawk landed on the railing, which was in the sun.  Its yellow eye seemed to be on me but I reach for the camera anyway, and off it flew.  Later as I cleared debris from the water, I could hear the crows fussing. 

In the afternoon, the tide ran very high between the wind and the new moon.  A lone dove visited the mulch under the feeder. A bold jumping spider peered at me from the hibiscus.  A red spotted purple fluttered around before deciding to egg the cherry. I got tired of scooping leaves from above.  The water was about as warm as before the storm and the sun was hot, though the wind was quite chilly.  I rescued a honeybee with loaded saddlebags of pollen.  That and a few ground beetles were all I found in the water. 

A great blue heron perched on a fallen tree trunk in the lake. 

Hurricane Michael

There was rain overnight but at breakfast the sun peeped out.  The creek was quiet and few leaves floated on the water.  K took in the feeders last night so birds did not visit.

At lunch time the sun was shining in a hazy sky and it was hot and steamy.  I saw a pair of fiery skippers mating.  There were adults among the remaining milkweed bugs. By mid afternoon a little rain had fallen, the wind had risen, and the clouds had taken over.

After dark, it became rainy and windy, but the real storm hit after 11pm.  The wind roared and the power went off three times between 11:30 and 12:45.  If it went off after that, I was asleep and missed it.  There was lightning but any thunder was drowned out by the wind.  The lightning revealed the oaks thrashing in the wind. 

Still summery

 The creek was mirror smooth in the morning sun.  High tide midday drove the periwinkles up the spartina.  By mid afternoon, wind gusts made waves in the pool.  Dramatic clouds gave way to haze but rain is supposed to start tomorrow.  And then whatever is left of Hurricane Michael will arrive in the night. 

Today I could not find either Argiope. The basilica spider's web looked fresh under the string-of-pearls eggs.  Adult milkweed bugs were visible among the nymphs.  I thought I saw a red spotted purple, but all i got was blurry leaves. 

An egret perched on the dock bench to preen.  A dove waddled around the patio.  Crows set up a commotion and an alarmed female cardinal landed on the feeder.  Birds flitted through the oak but I never got a decent shot. 

Missing spider

The tide was up in the grass.  It seems to me that the tides have been higher than usual all Fall.  A great blue heron perched on a snag in the lake.  A brown thrasher pounced on something behind the big fungus.

The Argiope by the patio and the web were gone today.  I hunted around for places it might have relocated, but no luck. The one in the spartina was still in the same place.  A rusty bumblebee pollinated the portulaca.  The black swallowtail caterpillar continued to feed and grow.  A black and white wasp seemed to me to be biting into the base of scarlet climber buds, presumably because it was not equipped to drink from a long tubed flower. 

Indigenous People Day

The humidity was thick enough to spread with a butter knife.  I squeegeed the fogged windows twice before I gave up.  And the patio furniture was wet so I didn't want to sit outside.  When I went to the library, I saw a dragonfly and a mockingbird.  During lunch, I caught glimpses of a couple of insects flying away but have no idea what they were.  Afterward, I went out front to repot the rest of the hanging plants.  The sun came and went but the humidity stayed and sweat dripped off me.  I hope salt water won't hurt the plants.  There was a big crow commotion.  I think the Cooper's hawk was behind it but I missed my chance with the camera.

Today's caterpillar count: one live black swallowtail and three drowned hairy white caterpillar.  But whether they were white before spending time in the pool bumping around with the chlorine tablets is anyone's guess.  A red spotted purple flitted past and disappeared.  I've never seen its caterpillar stage 

A squirrel lost something in the dock sink, probably a pine cone.  I was afraid I was going to have to rescue the rodent but it gave up without falling in.

Mosquitoes did not believe the weather prediction of no rain till Thursday.  The Argiope was still hanging around.  The milkweed bugs showed up in unlikely places but most crowded around the seed pods.  It turns out that among the seeds I scattered in May was tropical milkweed Asclepias curassavica.  Neither the milkweed bugs nor the monarch butterflies have shown any interest in it but something did pollinate it because it made a seed pod.  

Caterpillar season

I fished two different caterpillars out of the water.  Both were hairy.  The soggier of the two revived.  The other I tentatively identified as Acronicta americana - American Dagger Moth or Halysidota tessellaris - Banded Tussock Moth.  Meanwhile the other monarch caterpillar disappeared. I found a big black swallowtail caterpillar some distance from yesterday's sighting, and it appeared yellower so I'm not sure it was the same one.  And some sort of green inchworm dangled from the dogwood.  I figure it's getting to be time to pupate and that's why such a variety is visible.  I also saw the wasp that was hauling off a caterpillar last week.

The adult milkweed bugs also disappeared and it seemed as though their progeny were fewer than before.  The plant was beginning to release its seeds and I wondered if that was in response to the bugs attacking the pods.  Some sort of assassin bug hobbled across the concrete.  A red spotted purple flitted around the cherry. 

An osprey circled over the creek against an intensely blue sky.  There had been lots of clouds in the morning but they were all gone when I was outside.  Crows and blue jays called,  The sun highlighted the Argiope web.  In addition to the caterpillars, I rescued beetles and a cricket. 

Up early

Returning from an early appointment, I saw a Cooper's hawk go after a crow that had been harassing it.  There was no blood, just a lot of squawking.  I had gotten up before dawn to get to the appointment and noticed there was a little rain overnight  But when I left, the clouds had shifted away from the Eastern horizon so I had to drive into the sun. At lunch time a little sulphur butterfly found the portulaca and also tested the scarlet climber. 

When I went outside mid afternoon, a very determined brown tiger swallowtail caterpillar was trundling along the pool walkway.  Eventually it fell into the water but I was there to rescue it.  I watched till it finally left the concrete for the dirt under the trees.  I wonder if it was looking for a place to make its chrysalis?  One of the monarch caterpillars seems to have gone, perhaps with the same purpose.The other was still munching, as was a big black swallowtail caterpillar.  I also found a small second instar caterpillar on the rue.  The Argiope by the patio has not relocated.  I just glimpsed a red spotted purple. 

I very carefully rescued two bald faced hornets that fell into the deep end.  They did not linger for a portrait, alas.  I also fished out a small grasshopper that K was kind enough to photograph.  I also saved a spider and an assassin bug nymph and many beetles.  The assassin was determined to hand out on the tub where we dump the pool skimmer.  It marched over the spider's body to get there and the spider just sat.  And yes the spider was alive.  A couple of mockingbirds chased across the yard yelling at each other. I heard and glimpsed a kingfisher streaking upstream. 

Gray sky

A female blue dasher feasted on small fliers.  An egret stalked along the water's edge.  With each instar, the milkweed bugs have acquired more black markings. The two monarch caterpillars and the swallowtail caterpillar looked fat enough to pupate, but they were still chowing down.  A flock of crows gathered on some important mission.

Lost in Chesapeake

The new subdivisions in the Southern reaches of the city did me in.  I did see a tiger swallowtail and a mockingbird as I wandered.

I finally got home and into the water around 4pm where I rescued an assassin bug nymph. The milkweed bug nymphs have rushed through at least three instars already.  Their parents were still hanging around.  Two monarch caterpillars were visible - where had they been hiding? 

The spider in the spartina checked out as another Argiope.  And I think there were two egg sacks in the saltbush.  Both seem to be doing well and the one by the patio had a prey bundle  On the lake, every inch of dead log held a cormorant.  The tide was high on the creek despite the moon phase.  It pushed the periwinkles up the spartina into visibility.  At sunset, the clouds that had looked so massive disappeared, leaving only haze.  For a few minutes the sky was suffused with rose, but it faded by 7pm.

Too much to do

A monarch caterpillar joined the milkweed bugs.  I found a dead green stinkbug floating which may have been the one I rescued yesterday. Both spiders seem to be doing well.  An egret landed on the bulkhead. 

Breezy

One magenta, domestic morning glory survived to bloom this year.  I'm hoping for seeds to plant by the fence. I glimpsed skinks twice but failed to get a picture.  For once a frog got away from me, because lunch was ready.

Several yellow and orange butterflies also beat the camera.  I think wind kept more of them away. I rescued a green stink bug and left it on the pool ladder.  The Argiope by the patio captured something with yellow bands, perhaps a yellow jacket as there were others around.

Down by the creek, I discovered another spider.  And not far from it a dragonfly was perched.  Periwinkle snails were visible clinging to the spartina.  An egret rested on the dock briefly. 

Sunset was spectacular! 

Sunny

Yesterday was lovely, I'm told.  I spent it inside, away from home, alas.  When I got back, there was just enough light to check on the spider.

Fog was predicted for this first morning in October, but I saw no sign of it.  There was a heavy, drippy dew.  A hummer hovered all around the feeder but didn't seem to partake.  And K just hung a fresh one Saturday.  The first camellia opened.  The hackberry was loaded with ripening berries. 

A black swallowtail went crazy for the scarlet climber flowers.  I also saw a red spotted purple, a monarch, and an orange butterfly that was not a monarch.  A female bar winged skimmer kept watch over the pool. 

A turtle, a heron, and a pair of mallards shared a log on the lake.  The tide was up in the grass again.  It has run high all Fall.  Blue jays called a lot but mostly stayed out of sight.  I heard bird calls I didn't recognize as well.  A seed germinated in the ant moat. 

I rescued a pigeon tremex horntail that must have fallen out of the oak or been dislodged by one of the acorn eaters.  It was still staggering around the patio when I went indoors.  nd if that was not enough excitement, I saw a black threadwaisted wasp with a big green caterpillar it had captured.  They disappeared while I was circling around for a different angle, so the wasp must have flown off with the caterpillar twice its size.