Peninsula garden

K gave a presentation at the UU Fellowship of the Peninsula and I discovered they had a community vegetable garden.  It included several varieties of sunflowers, one of them bushy with smaller flowers which were overrun with bees and butterflies: two tiger swallowtails, a silver spotted skipper, and a painted lady.  The profusion of bugs attracted Eastern pondhawks and a golden winged skimmer.  I didn't ask but I suspect the flowers were Jerusalem artichoke - Helianthus tuberosus.  Maybe I should get one from the grocery and plant it? The sun was scorching and there wasn't much breeze to move the sticky air.


When we finally got home, a palamedes swallowtail was fluttering around the patio, but I missed it.  There were buds on one of the new lavenders and flowers on the butterfly milkweed.  A female Needham's skimmer used a perch near the flowers.  And of course there were blue dashers.  Wasps worked on the mints.  I fished a lacewing out of the water but I think it was dead.  By then the sky was full of menacing clouds racing East while the temperature dropped. 

I thought I'd seen a hummingbird with a white crown and now I have proof.   Meanwhile, a cardinal learned a bitter lesson.  He spied a fat green caterpillar in the rue and found that it tasted nasty.  The caterpillar died but presumably some of its siblings will be saved as long as the cardinal remembers.   Blue jays took a break from the blueberries to have some bark butter balls.  Chickadees and titmice and a finch stocked up on seeds. 

Ducks joined a turtle on the lake snags.  An egret staked upstream along the far bank.  The chaste tree was nearly finished blooming.  A cicada killer zoomed all around me, frustrating my effort to get a decent photo.  Thunder rumbled and convinced me to leave the pool but very little rain fell and the sky cleared before sunset. 

Another hot day

When I was collecting clothes that had hung dry, a tiny damselfly perched on a hanger.  Later, blue dashers were everywhere.  Alas, so were Japanese beetles.  A twelve spotted skimmer cruised overhead. 

An osprey circled over the creek.  I heard the blue jays calling and suddenly realized they were coming for the blueberries.  So I grabbed a bucket and went for them as well.  And I found a squirrel up in the bush eating berries. 

Brief thunderstorm

I picked blueberries in the morning, intending to swim afterward.  But a lovely lunch intervened and I didn't get into the water till all the shade was gone.  But clouds  brought relief until they brought a pop up afternoon thunderstorm that barely wetted the ground.

Dragonflies were mostly perched.  Bees and wasps were busy.  The great golden digger wasp was back.  Threadwaisted wasps were mating, and flying at the same time!  I rescued a sidewalk tiger beetle but I was too late for a skink.  A tiger swallowtail flitted through the cherry.  The mountain mint was beginning to get customers. 

A Carolina wren shared its opinion.  A hummer came for a drink.  I thought I heard a flycatcher whistle but I couldn't be sure. 

Very hot

A hummer visited briefly and I saw a titmouse and a chickadee share the seed feeder.  Dragonflies enjoyed the humidity, if not the heat.  Female blue dashers seemed to occupy every vantage point.

A variegated fritillary egged some plants growing in the french drain.  I rescued a spider that promptly dived back in.  I also rescued a robber fly, some beetles, and a couple of bristletails.

A curled leaf amused me with its reflections and illusions.

Home at last

I saw waterlilies blooming last Wednesday when the train cut through the edge of the Great Dismal. Today I saw more North of Quantico, but those were still closed up when the train passed. I didn’t see any along the Chichahominy swamp.

Mimosa, Ailanthus. and sumac were blooming, Closer to the ground, chicory, Queen Anne’s lace, and several yellow-flowered weeds were in bloom.  A couple of osprey flew upstream over the Potomac and later I saw a great blue heron flying North. A cabbage white, a sulphur, and a monarch were attracted to the aforementioned weeds.

At home, I saw a silver spotted skipper, a male widow skimmer, and a great golden digger wasp. I rescued a spider and a horntail which did not revive while I watched. 

A hummer had a long drink through its long beak. An osprey settled into the tall pine and soon crows began to arrive below and hop upward branch to branch, sneaking up on the osprey. 

The wild cherries were starting to ripen and the blueberries needed picking.  Red flowers, hibiscus, gladiolus, and roses, confused a hummer.  It was hot again, touching 90°F according to the car, under a hazy sky. There was only a light breeze. 

On the train

I saw a hummer before I left.

Lots of weeds were in bloom along the sides of the tracks.  The route cut across the top of the Great Dismal Swamp.  Waterlilies were blooming where there was open water.  More marshes lined inlets off the Potomac.  Then the monuments to Washington and Jefferson appeared.

The last evening of the trip, we went on a monument tour.  And at the Jefferson Monument I heard the first cicada of the year.  A flaming sunset lit the Tidal Basin. 

I didn't return by the same train route because a coal train derailed and dumped coal dust into the Great Dismal. 

Still hot

I didn't see much, just dragonflies.  The ground cherry flowers hung like yellow bells.  Thunderheads built up and rain began around 4:30pm.

Hot

Morning went by in a big hurry.  But coming home up Princess Anne, by TCC I saw at least a half dozen vultures sitting in a circle with one more outside the group.  It certainly looked like they were holding a funeral for the dearly departed, which I could not see.   But I had no camera. 

At home, I could see a couple of turtles on the lake.  Dragonflies were everywhere.  A pristine male widow skimmer hung around the patio.  A Halloween pennant flew from the top of the pine, despite wind gusts..  Blue dashers perched on any old spot and obelisked in the heat.  I saw quite a few young caterpillars on the bolted parsley.  The giant swallowtail's offspring have yet to appear on the rue.  I did see a few young black swallowtail caterpillars on the rue back in the spring, but none now despite frequent egging visits.  One was at it today. 

There were Japanese beetles in the water again.  I saved another mama spider.  The clouds got thicker and frequently blocked the sun.  The little black bee with the big pollen sacks was back at the lavender.  Blueberries were plump and so close to ripe that it was hard not to pick them. In the evening bands of rain passed through.  In between, a couple of titmice visited the seeds. 

Hunters

Low tide got very low in the afternoon.  Only one dragonfly monitored the water's edge.  Three turtles basked on the lake logs. 

In the pool, I found a mama spider clinging to the floating thermometer so I hauled the whole thing out to let her off.  And I forgot to look at the temperature.  The wind had caused many bees and wasps to fall into the water.  Most were drowned.  I rescued an adult spittlebug though I probably should have left it to drown like I did the Japanese beetles.  While I was in the water a variegated fritillary fluttered all over laying eggs I presume.  It didn't come back after I got out.  However, a widow skimmer did pose briefly. 

A yellow crowned night heron hunted crabs at the edge of the vegetation, successfully.  A little black bee worked on the lavender.  A skink kept to the cover of the violet leaves.  Then I went in. 

Warmer

 A hummer came for breakfast.   So did cardinals.  I wasted pixels chasing a tiger swallowtail with the camera.  When I did catch it, the wrong branches of the cherry tree were in focus.  The wild cherries were beginning to get red. 

 A great blue heron stalked the mud at low tide till a kayaker startled it.  Dragonflies watched from dead saltbush branches.  One was a great blue skimmer and the other a Needham's skimmer.  The camera wanted to focus on the water.  Four turtles soaked up sun on the lake snags. 

Basilica spiders were all over the rue.  I saw a bright metallic blue bee under the parsley, but it got away.  And I rescued a drowning cicada killer. 

A buckeye butterfly fed on the parsley.  Another golden Needham's skimmer stayed low on the rosemary to avoid the wind and the wasps.  Then a male Needham's showed up in all his red glory.

A Carolina wren seemed interested in the birdhouse in the camellia.  The paper wasps were frustrated by the treated wood in the bench seat.  A tired dragonfly landed on a chair back and refused to move. 

I was worried about the mountainmint because it was getting pale.  Turns out that happens before blooming.  But now I'm not sure I got the right kind of mountainmint.  What I got was clustered mountainmint.  Common or Virginia mountainmint apparently has prettier flowers.  And there are more mountainmints. 

Back in the water again

 A hummer came for breakfast.  It had something white on its forehead.  The ground cherry was blooming and so was the chaste tree.  Turtles queued up on one lake log leaving the other in the sole possession of one big turtle.  A flock of mostly well grown goslings fed down by the creek. 

I think I used this title last summer for much the same reason.  This time it was only a week.  I decided that having the camera by the edge was on thing too many, so I wasn't able to photograph a mama wolf spider, a scarab beetle, a Japanese beetle, a click beetle, a stink bug, a millipede, and a lovely male widow skimmer. 

It was a bit chilly when I got out, especially with the wind. A gorgeous Needham's skimmer stayed low on the perch.  A belated money plant popped its flowers up in the midst of the rue.  The others had drying seedpods.  A skink chased another along the retaining wall.  The moon was sharp and bright but I had trouble holding the camera steady. 

Humid

There were showers in the early morning.  A gladiolus bloom popped out of the green.  The hummer made regular visits.  One osprey chased another that had encroached on a prime perch in the neighbor's pine.  By lunch the clouds were broken and streaming into the Northeast.  I caught the blue jay close up. 

I glimpsed some butterflies including a tiger swallowtail, a cabbage white, and something orange, but only one dragonfly and it was being harassed by a wasp. Little black bees with pollen saddlebags were back at the lavender.  A black and metallic green paper wasp slurped up wood from the step wall.  The bronze and yellow Polistes just drank rue nectar.  I found a venusta orchard spider next to the gutter drainpipe. 

A skink appeared near my foot and froze so I got some pictures.  Only two turtles were visible today. 

Back to gray

The blue sky didn't last.  I saw the first four spotted pennant of the season.  Bar winged skimmers were  the only other dragonflies around.  The black swallowtail was back. Flower buds appeared on the spearmint and on the chaste tree.  Up on the lake there were five turtles on the logs. 

Cooler

In the cold, gray light of morning nothing stirred but the North wind in the trees.  The feral cat walked through the yard and kept going. Eventually birds appeared including a very perky Carolina wren.  A bird seized the top of the pine where it was a silhouette against the overcast but the camera revealed it was a great crested flycatcher. 

By the time I went to vote, the overcast had turned to cirrus feathers and soon the sun occupied an intensely blue sky.  The temperature was about the same inside or out, but it was still quite breezy.  An abundance of dragonflies and wasps were joined by a black and a tiger swallowtail.  One dragonfly was new to me.  I think it was a Stylurus plagiatus - Russet-tipped Clubtail.  I was just thinking that I have not seen any amberwings or saddlebags or widow skimmers to date when a widow skimmer appeared. 

I glimpsed an osprey and an egret.  The crape myrtle was blooming.  The leaf miners ate the lower leaves of the hibiscus despite the neem oil spray.  The first quarter moon was overhead as the setting sun gilded the treetops.  

White sky

The sun shone but the sky was mostly overcast.  The clouds looked to be coming from theWest.  A house wren poked around the seed feeder very early.  Later, a goldfinch pair took a look but were unsatisfied.  And I left the camera in the other room.  

Dragonflies buzzed around.  A yellow crowned night heron preened on the dock and I think a little green heron landed on the floating dock, but I couldn't see it.

Clearing

There must have been more rain in the night because there were drips everywhere.  Dragonflies reappeared, mostly blue dashers, and later some great blue skimmers  I saw a little brown leafhopper on a mint leaf.  A hummer visited and seemed to find the juice acceptable so I put off replacing it.

The gray overcast began to tear apart in the late morning on a wind from the East.  The greasy titmouse argued with a Carolina wren over who got the seed feeder perch.  Four squirrels played silly games with the post.  By noon the sky was blue with wisps of cumulus. 

I saw a yellow tiger swallowtail and an orange variegated fritillary. Wasps were busy with the rue.  A 12 spotted skimmer darted around the treetops. Some of the parsley heads were going to seed.  Late in the afternoon, the clouds congealed again and the air got very humid. 

Gray

Rain was still falling when I got up but it stopped by breakfast time.  The sky remained gray and at times the wind was rough and cold.  A hummer made repeated visits to her feeder all day long.  A downy woodpecker played peek-a-boo around the post before flying to the suet.  A blue jay checked out the buffet and turned up its beak.  A large bird, maybe an osprey,  landed in the neighbor's pine.  Toward evening, I saw an egret below the dam.

At least two titmice and four chickadees competed with the cardinals for seeds.  Both Baldy and Twitchy and Mrs Baldy Cardinal visited.  One titmouse appeared to have gotten coated with oil or something wet looking, but it flew with no problem.  There was some bullying among the chickadees. 

The parsley was bent over by the weight of rain.  Little bees or wasps and flies pollinated it.  An assassin nymph, probably a wheelbug, climbed a mint stalk. 

Misty

Titmice were up early but there wasn't enough light. When we crossed the bridge over the mouth of Lynnhaven Bay, the sea and sky were indistinguishable.  After we got back,  I saw a squirrel in the violets under the feeder.  However, another squirrel did not and ran right into the first one.  The second leaped straight up and backpedaled.  The first leaped up and gave chase.  Eventually peace was restored. 

A skipper fed on the lavender.  A dragonfly perched atop the pine.  A pondhawk rested on dried leaves. 

A yellow crowned night heron hunted along the water's edge.  A cormorant and two turtles were all the log occupants.  Then the mist turned to rain for the rest of the day. 

Hotter

I was gone from before dawn to mid afternoon.  The day was quite hot by the time we returned.  That brought out the dragonflies that were sparse while the temperature was more pleasant.  I also saw a black swallowtail and a cloudless sulphur.  A wren inspected the remnants on bark butter and said, "no,"  I glimpsed a hummer but I was unsure if it fed.  A couple of titmice and the twitchy cardinal had seeds.  Then toward evening we had a brief cloudburst.  When the fireflies came out, K closed the feeder and said the air was fragrant.

Storm

I only saw the hummer once and that was at breakfast.  I suspect she's sitting on eggs.  A titmouse and a blue jay also visited.  And this time I captured the blue jay, in pictures. 

There were a few dragonflies and a butterfly that may have been a zebra swallowtail.  A spider tended its dome web.  I found a millipede on the pool coping.  A fly that looked hungry settled on the glass near the door handle.  A turtle and a cormorant were out on the lake snags.

There were flickers of sunshine but the wind and the overcast kept the temperature down.  Then in the mid afternoon, it got very dark and rain pounded us.  It slacked off but rain continued for the rest of the day. An egret took advantage of a lull. 

Blue jay!

Mimosas have been in bloom since late May.  A house wren took over the feeder but it wasn't interested in seeds.  The bald cardinal was - he fed them to his lady with the nest in the camellia. Today I got the blue jay!

A dragonfly preferred an old stick to my nice perches.  An hour later, a different dragonfly had the stick perch. Turtles were out on the logs, enjoying the sun.

It looked like a lovely day, but I had too much to do. Swallows were flying in Norfolk in the twilight.  Fireflies were out when I got home.

Sunny

Half our air conditioning failed so it is very fortunate that the temperature was mild. Had it happened last week during the heat wave, I might have run away from home.  But I was running around a lot and didn't see much.   A black swallowtail and a variegated fritillary flitted around.  I saw a wren in the birdhouse but it saw me and fussed.  I rescued a couple of ungrateful spiders.

Sunset was spectacular despite the lack of clouds. 

Pleasant

A skink made a brief appearance at lunchtime.  A short thunderstorm popped up just when I was ready to go swim.  Fortunately it didn't last long.  I rescued several spiders and a few tiny wasps, or maybe bees.  Up in the top of the oak, a dragonfly rode a bare twig in the wind gusts.  The blue jay sneaked in fora mouthful of bark butter. 

Stormy start to June

Rain fell all night and into the morning.  I heard plenty of thunder before I went to bed.  During a lull at breakfast, a titmouse visited the feeder.  But the streaked window defeated the camera. Judging by the ant moat, we got half an inch of rain.  And it was definitely cooler, though humid. 

By lunch, the sky was clearing.  A blue tailed skink scuttled across the step.  A cardinal worked on a nest in the camellia.  I went out and worked on the poison ivy in the hope that the rain had loosened its roots.  Now I just hope I didn't get any on me.  The pool was full of dead juniper needles, pine needles, cherry leaves, spiders, and beetles. 

I got a couple of decent shots of a twelve spotted skimmer in flight at treetop level.  A skipper came for some lavender nectar and then a little, gray, leaf cutter bee wanted some too.  They were behind me so all I caught was the skipper.  The cilantro perked up from the rain and small wasps discovered the flowers.  There were fewer dragonflies when I had expected more, thinking that the rain would have encouraged mosquitoes and midges. 

A blue jay made a foray to the barkbutter/mealworm porridge that the rain had made.  The titmouse came back. Four chickadees acted silly, chasing and hanging off things. A house wren scolded them off the feeder.  Then a night heron landed on a high, dead branch and plucked a twig which it carried away.  It was silhouetted by the sky. Fireflies came out while the cardinal was having his bedtime snack.