Rain showers

At lunch I saw a palamedes swallowtail on the parsley or mint, but it left before,  the camera was ready.  Later I caught a buckeye fanning itself. 

There was a curious commotion in the creek which I meant to investigate.  But when I got outside and saw the dark sky to the South, I forgot all about the creek.   And the humidity attacked the camera, fogging the lens that was cool from being inside. 

Suddenly, about 1:45pm we had a short shower.  Twice more during the afternoon there was brief rain.  And thunder growled in the South in between.  Numerous saddlebags and 12 spotted skimmers flew low under the clouds.  Blue dashers, slaty and great blue skimmers waited on perches.  The usual bees and wasps worked on the mountain mint. 

I rescued a robber fly, a millipede, a tiger beetle, and a wasp.  The Argiope's web was a mess and I worry that it isn't catching enough food. 

Birds came out while I dripped.  A Carolina wren investigated the bark butter balls. A male red bellied woodpecker probed a dying limb in the oak.  Titmice just acted silly.  one picked cherries and another caught a caterpillar in the oak.  The hummer had sugar water.  A pine warbler appeared in the oak.