Hail, yes

K put fresh sunflower seeds in the feeder which got the squirrels excited.  But the feeder defeated their efforts.  The male hummer returned. I wish he would face the camera and flash his ruby throat. 

I found a lacewing on the sprig of mint in a vase indoors.  I've no idea how it got there but I released it outside.  The Argiope spun its zigzag at an angle.  A monarch finally noticed the milkweed.  However, I'm not sure the plants are big enough to support caterpillars yet.  A female widow skimmer showed up instead of the male I saw for the last several days. 

I picked about ten figs, the first of the season.   Clouds flowed out of the West and gave some relief from the heat and sun.  Saddlebags dragonflies cruised beneath them.  We had lunch outside, in the shade. 

The thunderstorm we weren't supposed to have arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon. The rain was as blinding as snow and shot off the roof over the gutters.  I think an inch fell in 20 minutes while lightning and thunder were simultaneous, and loud.  Hail was rough in shape and as big as a sugar cube.  (And melted nearly as fast.)  The temperature dropped nearly 20 degrees, but of course that didn't last. 

The clouds parted but the sun didn't dry the windows.  And later the sky became overcast.  A fiery sunset poured through a rent in the West.