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.
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