Hot

A hummer came to breakfast.  A brown thrasher was up early scouting for crumbs.  Wasps and bees went for the mountain mint, as did a brown stinkbug.  

I rescued a horntail that was still actively struggling and must have just fallen in the water.  It didn't take long to recover.  I also rescued a mama wolf spider and her progeny. An odd green floater turned out to be a stinkbug.  I rescued scarab and ground beetles but not the Japanese beetle. 

A widow skimmer spent the day on the perch outside my window.  A pondhawk used the stalk that had held daylily flowers as an observation post.  A blue dasher perched delicately on a long, thin leaf.  Another later obelisked on a lavender pod.  Lots more blueberries had ripened and I got very sweaty picking them.  

Still hot & humid

While I was doing dishes after breakfast, there were two hummer visits.  A female bluebird had some suet.  A perched dragonfly, a female bar-winged skimmer, turned iridescent.  Much later, I spied a blue dasher.  A damselfly hung around to pool making me wonder if I was bait. 

I rescued a bunch of brown scarabs and a woodlouse hunter spider that was clinging to an oak leaf.  That spider species drowns very quickly so it was fortunate to have found the leaf.    A great golden digger wasp appeared on the mountain mint.  So did a brown stinkbug, rusty carpenter bee and a big yellow bumblebee. 

Huge dark cumulus clouds looked like rain and there was loud thunder in the afternoon but no precipitation.  The hibiscus sawflies were leaving eggs on the hibiscus leaves so I will need to spray more neem oil.  At twilight the tide was quite low and the fireflies were thick.  I tried once again to catch them on camera and actually succeeded!  

Scorcher

The sky was intensely blue and the few little cumulus clouds couldn't temper the sun.  I definitely got a little crisp around the edges.  The beautyberry bush had begun to bloom.  Wild cherries were ripening and blue jays weren't waiting.  Still, it gave them something to eat besides our blueberries.  Titmice were happy with seeds and suet. 

A skink played peekaboo with me.  Later, two skinks came running my way, one chasing the other.  They froze when they noticed me, then slunk off in opposite directions.  That meant that one was still headed toward me.  It must have hoped that I was safer than the other skink. 

There were lots of dragonflies but most didn't cooperate.  I rescued a millipede.  A tiger swallowtail teased but never landed.  A duskywing skipper was in love with the mountain mint.  Of course, it had to compete with bumblebees and wasps.  I saw a leafcutter bee with its pollen-coated belly. 

Crows gathered to curse something on the ground but I was being plagued by a green-eyed fly and couldn't stay to see what the commotion was about.  A hummer visited the little feeder. A wren bustled around under the violet leaves where I couldn't get a clear look at it.  

Fair weather clouds

I put out all kinds of bird food but didn't get much response.  The bugs were more enthusiastic.  I rescued a bumblebee and a wasp and too many scarab beetles to count. A bumblebee seemed determined to visit every flower on the mountain mint.  

A fiery skipper couldn't keep up.  Wasps also worked on the mountain mint.  A rusty carpenter bee joined the mint crew.  I chased a tiger swallowtail with the camera, to no avail.  

Passing clouds seemed to hang heavy.  A bluebird finally noticed the suet.  A hummer visited the fresh sugar water.  Three titmice acted silly.  

Mostly rain

The rain started during my morning meeting while I had my back to the window and kept arriving in waves till late afternoon.  Since I hadn't put any food out the birds stayed away, except the seed eaters.  I saw a couple of wrens in the dogwood while I was in the pool.  Wild cherries were getting red so they will soon attract birds without my help.  The chaste tree began blooming.  The red ruffled daylily put out a strangely pale flower.  The mountain mint attracted wasps and bees and soldier beetles.  Perhaps they attracted the lovely widow skimmer that came and sat on my chair arm.  

Opressive

Aster and sakaki blossoms, along with the mountain mint, attracted wasps and other insects. Gladiolus and daylilies brought color but didn't do much for the insects.  Daisies seemed more attractive to flies.  Clouds covered much of the sky, hanging low and holding the humidity in place.  It wasn't all that hot, but there was little breeze.  I found a small mama spider in the skimmer.  

Skink

I finally found a cooperative tiger swallowtail, right outside my window.  It sat on a cinquefoil leaf for quite some time.  A male downy woodpecker continued to check on the empty suet cage, then pecked the post in frustration.  Carolina wrens checked in as well. 

Finally after four online meetings I had time for the pool.  The water was warm but the North wind was not.  A spider tried to use me as a life preserver but I felt the tickle of its feet and brushed it off.  Then I had to properly rescue it.  My best guess is that it was a woodlouse spider but it was much paler than any other that I've seen.  

I almost didn't go to the deep end because I was cold, but fortunately for a skink, I did.  It was big enough to know better than to go for a swim and it seemed stunned by the experience.  Quite some time passed before it began to move around normally.  

In the evening, the twelve spotted dragonflies were out as usual.  Fluffy cumulus chased the sun to get a paint job.  

Rare June day

The cool temperatures persisted after the rain departed, leaving bright sun and cool breezes.  The female bluebird was hungry.  A Needham's skimmer perched on the gladiolus while a blue dasher used one of my bamboo perches.  A twelve spotted skimmer patrolled the air.  An assassin nymph lurked on the mountain mint.  A blossom opened on an aster.  A bumblebee rescued itself thanks to a stick I wedged into place on the edge of the pool.  A tiger swallowtail made repeated visits to the cherry tree.  I glimpsed a yellow crowned night heron.  Surprising plants popped up from all the seeds I scattered.  Leatherwing soldier beetles copulated on the mountain mint.  A single cormorant kept watch over the turtle log and a couple of turtles alomst as big as the bird.  

Rainstorm

I spent most of the morning on one of those annual medical rituals.  When I got home, I collected some coral lily seeds and some blueberries.  I walked around to check on other plants.  The peppers looked full grown.  The white lily was finished and the red almost done but the pink lilies were going strong.  Gladiolus began to bloom and the wind promptly snapped the stalk of one spike.I finally got a good picture of the native clematis.  Before lunch, the temperature climbed past 90° then a thunderstorm dragged it down below 70°. So I lost my chance for the pool.  A bag or balloon or some such thing drifted downstream in the rain. 

Still hot

Morning rain didn't last.  Birds ignored it to reach the suet.  A Carolina wren alternated suet and sunflower seeds.  As usual, a brown thrasher preferred to clean up what fell.  

The sun was out by lunch time, driving up the temperature.  Wasps and hover flies enjoyed the mountain mint.  A great blue skimmer dragonfly kept watch outside my window and later a blue dasher chose the perch by the pool.  I caught a glimpse of a damselfly.  The sky was intensely blue with fluffy clouds.  A yellow kneed wasp nibbled on the bench.  

The leatherleaf clematis Clematis pitcheri continued to bloom on the front porch but the flowers were more white than purple.  The crocosima was spectacular.  And the chaste tree was blooming already.  Goslings by the shoreline were half grown and beginning to get adult colors.  Fireflies blinked while the geese grazed.  

Overcast solstice

There was some sunshine in the late morning though the cloud cover remained.  The longest day was not the brightest and the wind discouraged fliers.  K hung the new ant moat and a block of suet.  A female bluebird soon arrived, then a Carolina wren tried to share suet with her.  The chickadees took over the comedy duties, carrying on around an oblivious cardinal.  While it was sunny and above 90°, a skink hunted something under the violet leaves then flowed across the top step and into a crack. 

Then a light rain fell from 2pm to 4pm and dropped the temperature from the 90s to the 70s.  After things dried out somewhat, I went for a swim.  A defunct swamp darner floated on the water.  I put it on the concrete to dry in case it revived.  Ants informed me that wasn't going to happen.  I also saw a damselfly that was very much alive.  When I got out, I found a spider with her ball of eggs crossing the patio.  An assassin bug nymph also found a need to cross the patio.  

A hummer visited very briefly.  I saw a house wren but wasn't fast enough with the camera.  The overcast broke apart at sunset and captured colored light.  A thin pink cloud layer fuzzed the moon.  

 

Hot & hazy

Big cumulus clouds looked menacing but nothing happened.   I wasted pixels hunting flying dragons, but t got a few twelve-spotted dragonflies.  Damselflies were more cooperative, but so tiny. 

A stick got stuck in the pool skimmer and clinging to its tip was an assassin bug nymph that looked quite dead.  But I left on the concrete it to dry out and, sure enough, it revived. There were quite a few feathers in the water.  I hope they were just molted and preened away.  

A bumblebee worked on the mountain mint.  A brown thrasher didn't want its picture taken.  A squirrel passed very close to me to get to fallen sunflower seeds.  

After sunset, wispy clouds looked ethereal, but they blurred the moon.  Still, I got a good view of craters. 

Not much

I missed much of the day.  The air was hot and dry so I was surprised by the dragonflies.  I was buzzed by a male widow skimmer that got away unphotographed.  A male blue dasher guarded the pool.  Later I saw a female.  A twelve spotted skimmer patrolled at treetop height.  One or more Carolina wrens bustled around the empty feeders. 

At sunset, the first quarter moon was bright despite wispy clouds.  Fireflies were thick over the grass and I wasted a lot of pixels trying to catch one blinking.  

Great weather continued

I was only outside in the morning but I managed quite a few rescues.  A winged ant staggered around on terra firma.  Alas a damselfly was defunct.   A scarab beetle had rescued itself, more or less.  It climbed a rescue stick but didn't fly away and eventually fell off.  So I hauled it out and put it on the concrete to dry.  

A dragonfly watched.  It may have been a spangled skimmer.  Also defunct was a stink bug.  The silvery spider was still lurking on the pool ladder.  Leatherwings gathered on the parsley.  

At lunch, a bluebird waited impatiently for a Carolina wren to finish eating barkbutter.  This time I fastened it with many rubber bands.  The silly young titmice also got some.  

Another rare June day

A hummer visited the new, little feeder.  Leatherwing beetles feasted on parsley flowers.  A few blueberries turned red.  Saddlebags dragonflies cruised under fat cumulus clouds.  A silvery spider blended in with the pool ladder railing, at least from the water.  It was more visible from outside.  Mud dauber wasps worked on fresh nests.  A swallowtail butterfly was attracted to the rue.  A brown headed nuthatch paid a visit to the sunflower seeds.  The titmouse tribe were all over the place, fledglings acting silly.  But something stole the fresh barkbutter tub I put out.  The moon was getting on toward the first quarter. Toward evening, I was watching a downy woodpecker up in the oak when I spotted a great crested flycatcher.   

Gorgeous day

Clouds were few and thin and the heat was tempered by a strong breeze from the North..  We ate lunch outside where I was entertained by young titmice arguing over the empty suet cage.  A great blue skimmer used the perch behind the house.  A black swallowtail egged the bolted parsley.  A smaller butterfly landed on the concrete and only showed the drab underside of its wings.  My best guess was painted lady, but I wasn't certain.  A tiger swallowtail visited the parsley for nectar, not egg-laying.  And later I found a used chrysalis attached to a parsley stalk. 

I marinated in the pool and tried to avoid disturbing spiders that were lurking just above the water.  A fly or something briefly bothered me but I either hit it with water or it gave up.  Several skinks ventured out during the afternoon.  Another daylily made an appearance.  More winged ants hunted mates and nest sites.  I let the birdbath dry out to kill off mosquitoes and discovered ants were harvesting larva hiding in the dried algae.  I scraped up some of the writhing mass to inspect more closely.  Wasps visiting the birdbath were disappointed.  The rue was finished but the mountain mint flowers were beginning to open so wasps relocated.  Soldier beetles also investigated the mountain mint.   An egret flew over when I was ready so I got a good shot. 

 

Fly

I mostly cleaned the pool in the morning, but I got another chance in the afternoon.  A really large black ant agreed to be photographed after it was rescued.  A blue dasher guarded the back of the house. A feather danced all over the patio and up as high as the roof.  A 12 spotted skimmer patrolled the upper airspace. 

In the afternoon, I rescued an assassin bug nymph.  A spider was swirled around in the skimmer and I thought it was dead.  But as soon as it felt air, it unfolded alarmingly fast and revealed that it was a mama.  The spiderlings scuttled all over but were so small that I could only see them when they moved.  There were also two tan beetles that revived. I saw a tiny damselfly that might have had a red thorax.I didn't get to verify this because a fly came after me.  I'm not sure if it was a greenhead or a deer fly, but it was clearly after meat.  

Picnic in the park

The weather for the picnic was lovely, though there were lots of puddles and muddy spots and eventually the little biters hatched out.  I saw a bird swooping back and forth over the grass on the hill.  I'm guessing it was a swallow feasting on bugs.  I did not see any dragonflies however.  And I didn't get any wildlife pictures except a couple of unicorns.  

When I finally had time to look out at our yard, mallards dabbled in the creek.  Cormorants dried out on logs on the lake.   A rabbit dashed across the back yard while I was wasting pixels on mallards.    

Moist

The rain stopped mid day but the humidity was miserable.  And the temperature never quite made it to 73° so I was not tempted by the pool.  A fiery skipper landed on the glass, but I thought is was a moth till I opened the door. 

Birds came for suet but they didn't seem very enthusiastic.  Maybe the humidity bothered them too?  A blue jay twisted around to get a bite.  Then a male bluebird took a turn.  Titmice, chickadees and downy woodpeckers attempted to share. 

The rain dissolved yesterday's fancy daylily.   It didn't seem to bother the true lilies in the front yard.  The slime mold also seemed undisturbed.  I saw a couple of gray russulas but no other mushrooms yet.  The rabbit was back, nonchalantly munching the front yard grass.  

 

Rain, rain, rain

I saw a white breasted nuthatch as I was leaving in the morning but didn't get a picture.  Rain fell on my way and again coming back.  On my way home I passed a yellow crowned night heron standing in the grass along the road into my neighborhood. I can't imagine what it was doing there.  I bought new hummingbird feeders and suet.  During a lull I hung a block of suet. But I think it rained all afternoon and I heard thunder after dark. It was a sluggish day. 

Overcast

The rain brought lots of flowers out, including four different daylilies.  I rescued a couple of spider mamas and some other critters. More snails floated in the water but I gave up on them.   A small caterpillar of a type I'd not seen before promenaded along the pool coping.  

The day was mostly cloudy but began to be very dark around 4pm so I hurried outside to finish planting the bulbs I tried and failed to force to bloom indoors.  There was a white slime mold in much the same area I saw one last summer.  A winged ant queen tried to find a way into the house.  And sure enough, the rain caught me and soaked me.  

It was not a hard rain and though it lasted some time the ant moats did not seem to gain water.  A titmouse caught something in the hibiscus thicket,  During a lull, the brown thrashers, a red bellied and a downy woodpecker, and a Carolina wren all came seeking supper, but there was none to be had.  I plan to fix that tomorrow.  I know, I said no more suet, but the birds disappeared.  

Afternoon rain

The summer weather pattern of afternoon thunderstorms settled in.  So, believing the weather prediction, I headed out to the pool in the morning.  A skink was startled, ran off, then peeked back at me.  

I rescued many beetles, a few spiders including a mama, and quite a few winged ants and wasps.  A huge copper-brown ant disappeared down a crack just as I was getting her in focus.  Ungrateful!  The beetles included a firefly and a leatherwing.  A blue dasher perched in back of the house.  I caught just a glimpse of a tiger swallowtail.  A couple of snails stayed in their shells.  

A great blue heron flew upstream, a great egret walked under the bulkhead, and a yellow crowned night heron just fished.  Crows came for barkbutter balls but blue jays got more of them.  A couple of ducks and a turtle stayed on the lake logs after clouds covered the sun.  

Very hot

In the morning I went outside to refill a feeder and saw a yellow crowned night heron preening on the dock.  Haze and passing clouds relieved the intensity of the sun but even a lively breeze could not reduce the heat.  The pool water was up to 80° but that was sufficiently cooler than the air to keep me comfortable.  

A great blue skimmer used the stake closest to my office window.  Damselflies guarded the pool.  A blue dasher obelisked.  One bumblebee rescued itself, but I pitched a handful of corpses.  A honeybee fed on the rue.  A black swallowtail fluttered all around the rue laying eggs.  Later I noticed a very small caterpillar on the rue.

There were even more drowned roaches.  The beetles needing rescue were more interesting.  In addition to the black ground beetle there were several scarabs and a lemon-yellow ladybird beetle.  A flower beetle did not recover.  I found three glass snails floating in the water and transferred them to the birdbath.

Brown thrashers, blue jays, and crows went for barkbutter balls but i wasn't able to get any decent photos.  Finally, a hummingbird found the sugar water acceptable.  A skink climbed the bricks behind the outdoor furniture.  

Hot, hazy, humid

I was out early with the neem oil sprayer when I encountered a tiny damselfly.  Already the sun burned, but the flowers seemed happy.  After lunch it was too hot for me even in the shade.  Bees and wasps fed on the rue.  I saw a bluebird, a brown thrasher, and a blue jay, but none of them posed.  Toward evening, geese came to graze and I had to give them a fierce glare to keep them at the bottom of the hill.  The goslings had doubled in size.  

Not in the prediction!

The sun at breakfast spotlighted half open daylily flowers.   There was supposed to be no chance of precipitation today so I didn't rush to get outdoors.  But a storm popped up after lunch and didn't clear off till after 4pm.  While the rain fell in bursts and there was a little thunder there wasn't very much more water in the ant moat.  Even so, rainfall for the year again edged ahead of the average with more expected all week. 

I managed some pool time after the rain, but not much was going on.  A few more black beetles needed rescue.  The spider I'm still trying to identify must have identified me because it hustled away into the vegetation. So far the closest thing seems to be the genus Schizocosa.  I rescued a glass snail twice then gave up on it.  After supper I noticed the rabbit in a neighbor's yard.  The fireflies were back as soon as the sun set. 

Fireflies

I learned that the 5th of June is World Environment Day.   The fancy daylily with the red ruffled edges began blooming.  So did the butterfly milkweed.  I saw several skinks in the course of the day. 

A teneral male Eastern pondhawk rested in the mulch.  When fully adult the male is all blue.  A crow perched on a branch in the shade with its beak open, not cawing, maybe panting.  I rescued another one of those spiders with the enlarged forelegs and a pale back stripe. 

Rain left the creek caramel-colored and turbid.  Dragonflies were out hunting after supper but I had no luck with the camera.  The first fireflies I've seen this year blinked into view at twilight,  

Clearing

There was a deluge as I was returning from an early morning errand, but it became more gentle by 10am.  The Carolina wrens rushed to get their share of suet, with the bluebirds right behind.  A brown thrasher seemed scandalized by the display of greed.  The female red bellied woodpecker was a messy eater but blue jays and other birds cleaned up after her.  The white breasted nuthatches came back and even a titmouse had to have some suet.  This was absolutely the last block of it till Fall.  

At noon it was very humid.  I went out front to check how my seed plantings were doing.  One tiny feathery-leafed plant had a white star-shaped flower.  The white lily started blooming.  The freesia-like crocosmia had many more flower sprays this year.  The jasmine smelled delightful.  

In the back, a squirrel was hilarious as a would-be thief of sunflower seeds.   I believe the butterfly milkweed and the mountain mint are almost ready to bloom.  The lavender was very popular with little bumblebees.  

The sky cleared in the afternoon so I got in some pool time.  The weather hadn't produced much litter, just dead needles off the red cedar.  In quantity, they resemble a health cereal.  I added another bite to my collection of itches.  Then after supper, a thunderstorm boiled up in the North.  

Rain

The rain came in waves with brief intervals between.  It was never really heavy, just enough to keep me indoors, and to generate a Flash Flood Watch from NOAA.  When the rain slacked off, the birds queued up at the feeders. I was surprised that the bluebird waited for the smaller white breasted nuthatch to finish.  The red bellied woodpecker was more concerned that something might be sneaking up on her.  A Carolina wren explored the sunflower seeds while waiting for suet. 

Wet

Great blue skimmer dragonflies gathered to catch little blood-suckers.  A few honeybees worked on the rue.  A potter wasp joined them.  A big carpenter bee was wedged into the little ant moat K bought.  I got it out alive and intact.  I also rescued too many beetles. 

Yesterday's snail had moved a short distance.  A yellow crowned night heron prowled the shoreline.  Clouds thickened in the afternoon and rain sent me inside.  

Hazy

It was just barely warm enough to get into the pool. Haze made the sun feel warm instead of hot.  There was enough humidity aloft to make contrails crisscrossing in every direction but East.  A couple of skinks crossed the patio. 

I spotted some 12-spotted skimmers cruising overhead, but didn't manage to catch any on camera. Big darners banged into the window, but even so were too fast for me.  Fortunately, the great blue skimmers prefer to perch and watch for dinner to fly by.  Bees and wasps visited the rue.  I found a glass snail and put it in the birdbath.

Blue jays tried to avoid having a picture taken while eating the treats I provide.  Crows just wanted to eat.  I wonder if the titmice were carrying food to fledglings - there was a lot of commotion in the leaves when they flew in.  Ditto for the brown thrashers.  A Carolina wren poked around the fork of an oak limb.  I also saw woodpeckers, cardinals, and bluebirds.  A hummer visited briefly.  I made fresh sugar water yesterday but something still seems unacceptable.