Sunshine on the glassy creek spoke of Fall thought the heat and humidity belonged to Summer. The third chrysalis still had not opened. Black swallowtail caterpillars continued chowing down on rue. A Carolina wren speared a bark butter ball and wore it like a clown nose, alas out of focus. Hummers started drinking early.
At lunch, a squirrel flattened its belly against a cool patch of shaded patio. A fiery skipper insisted on a place at the mountain mint. Afterward, I saw a juvenile night heron hunting along the edge of the creek.
A female pondhawk guarded the rue while a bird grasshopper hung out on the hibiscus. A sharpshooter was also on the hibiscus, but I was too close to it. In trying for a photo, I disturbed the grasshopper who flew to the gladiolus leaves. I saw a tiger and a palamedes swallowtail, and some sulphurs, but they didn't pause. A black swallowtail was more cooperative.
I rescued a skink despite its best efforts to drown. Many other skinks were out and about. The rabbit hopped past me while I was in the deep end of the pool. A female eastern amberwing dragonfly hung out with the wasps around the mountain mint. Wikipedia claims that both appearance and behavior mimic wasps.
We had to refresh the hummers' juice. I heard a crow and then saw a red tailed hawk fly away. After that lots more birds appeared. Great crested flycatchers appeared to find plenty to catch in the trees. A young mockingbird might have been after dogwood berries or hackberries. Brown headed nuthatches wanted sunflower seeds and one made the ratcheting squeak for which they're known.
I came in to shed my swimsuit and when I next looked, a brown thrasher and a downy woodpecker confronted each other across the barkbutter. Then two squirrels chased madly up the feeder pole and back, disturbing a female bluebird. After that, it got quiet again.
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