Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Sweaty day

 A blue jay wanted a barkbutter breakfast but was nervous about actually landing on the dish.  

I felt it was time to spray Neem oil again but when I started to spray the lavender up popped a small brown praying mantis.  I scooted it to the side and tried to interest it in another location.  Nope.  Back it went to the lavender.  I learned that mantises too young to have wings can hop.  The mantis was excellently camouflaged.

The sun transformed a perched male blue dasher into a jewel.  A fiery skipper joined the bees and wasps on the mountain mint.  Then a duskywing showed up.  Several skinks hotfooted it across the concrete.  Two black swallowtails flitted around but only one laid eggs in the rue.  A female blue dasher perched on an old gladiolus spike. 

Hummers were very thirsty.  A pair of wrens investigated.  A swallow flew by, calling,or I would have missed it.

I passed a larger slaty skimmer on my way to pick figs. There were plenty that had ripened since the rain, but even more fermenting, rotting,and growing mold .I didn't realize till I came back inside how hot I'd gotten. K said there was another praying mantis among the figs, but it was green. 


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