Gentle rain

I raced to pick more figs before I had to leave because the forecast suggested rain any minute.  A big green June beetle joined the wasps in the fig feast.  I did not see the spiderweb.  The grass was full of tiny pale brown parasols.  As it turned out, the sun was still shining when we got back.  However, I thought I should recover slowly, so I didn't rush outside.  A couple of doves promenaded on the patio.  A black swallowtail egged the rue.  I also saw a tiger swallowtail cross the yard. 

To the South, the sky was dark and congested, but the North was blue with a foam of white cloud.   A fiery skipper flitted around the driveway.  A couple of skinks prowled around the steps in back. 

The brown headed nuthatch came back.  It was smaller than a chickadee but determined to have a share of seeds.  The Carolina wren came twice to check for the bark butter I had taken inside for fear of storm winds.  There was no wind and the wren made me fell guilty, so I put the bark butter back outside for the rest of the day.  A couple of great crested flycatchers went chasing across the yard and into the trees. 

A four spotted skimmer took the bamboo stake perch.  Its spots were much darker than the one I saw a few days ago.  Maybe it was older, maybe even the same one? Fewer bees and wasps were evident, but some persisted on the mints.  The sky grew fully overcast and a light rain fell intermittently while I was in the pool.  There was a fair amount of floating debris and some gnasty noseeums hovering around me.  I could hear swallows but I didn't see them and in any case I'd left the camera inside because of the rain. 

The rain stopped for several hours and after supper I sat outside though the chair was wet.  The high-flying dragonflies were busy.  There wasn't any wind.