Still hot

A red headed skink and a moth enlivened breakfast.  It was tough persuading the camera to focus on the glass window and not the background, especially as the moth wouldn't stay put.  

Dragonflies were definitely visible but rarely still.  A delicate brown damsel fly perched on a twig but flew when I got too close.  A female blue dasher finally obliged.  I rescued a spider and a couple of beetles but there was little wind to toss bugs into the water.  

The construction across the creek cut into the waterbird population, and who can blame thme for choosing a different creek?  But after quitting time I spotted a night heron on a log under the bulkhead.  Mysterious activities in the water continued to disturb the creek's surface.  

Lovely weather

The sky was more hazy today and there were occasional clouds.  The air was warm enough that the breeze felt good. I took a lot of photos.  What I thought was a brown thrasher preening in the cherry tree was a female cardinal.  

More beetles needed rescue.  One was some kind of borer, probably Chalcophora virginiensis, Sculptured Pine Borer.  Perhaps I should have let it drown? While I was drying out, I watched the rue for wasps. One was striped like a yellow jacket, but it didn't look quite right. 

A dead branch came down last week. I checked it over for lichens, but found only crustose.  But there were incipient bracket fungi.  The wild cherry is absolutely loaded with berries but birds aren't showing any interest yet.  

I inadvertently startled a skink, but after I was quiet for a while, he ventured out.  His head was very red, indicating he was ready to breed.  He posed very nicely so I took many pictures.  Then another five lined skink showed up without a red head, probably a female.  She? disappeared into the same crevice where he had gone.  Some time later he reappeared and returned to the log where he'd been posing.  

A male hummingbird came to the feeder while I was sitting beside it.  He decided I was too close and flew off.  Cursing my luck, I retreated to a more distant chair.  After some time spent skink-watching, my patience was rewarded.  Alas, the light did not turn his throat ruby.  And I realized the feeder is in a bad location for photography.  The background is too close and full of humingbird-shaped leaves.  Still, I was able to confirm that a female hummer also visited the feeder.  

 

Intense sunshine

Blue sky and low humidity three weeks from the solstice meant a lot of UV got through the atmosphere.  I took care to move in and out of shade.  Blue jays came for breakfast.  While I was in the pool, I saw a male bluebird feeding a fledgling, but the bird I photographed looked more like a house finch.  I guess I tracked the wrong bird.  A mockingbird visited at lunch. 

I rescued several spiders, beetles, sweat bees, and a small gilded moth from drowning.  I think the spiders were male wolf spiders. The black beetles were probably some species of Scarites ground beetle.  The scarab was bronze-flecked brown.  Several cabbage whites flitted around and one appeared to be egging nearly every plant.  Wasps were busy as always. 

Glorious day

The lovely weather, mid 80s, breezy, and low humidity, brought out dragonflies that circled the house, round and round.  I think there were pondhawks among them.  A male blue dasher and a male great blue skimmer rested long enough for pictures.  The usual two paper wasp species were still feeding on the rue at 8pm.   The only butterfly was a cabbage white.  A blue tailed skink was guarding the strawberries till K moved them. 

Two healthy milkweed plants have yet to make any flowers to show what kind they are, but the butterfly milkweed was blooming.  I believe one sunflower germinated in the fence corner by the figs.  A volunteer coriander bloomed in the front yard.  Our lawn and many others were carpeted with white clover so I think local beehives must be healthy.  Small pale flowers marked the blue-eyed grass that was actually growing in the grass.  The rain all last week prevented mowing so the lawn was full of flowers. 

Several kinds of mushrooms popped up. Several Amanita muscaria var. guessowii looked ready for fairies or leprechauns.  A gray mushroom near the pecan might have been a grisette.  The third I saw was too nibbled to guess it identity. 

Bluebirds and blue jays still wanted to be fed.  The female red bellied woodpecker peeked at the suet but flew away. 

Thunderstorm deluge

In the morning there were passing showers.  I managed to run my errand between them.  But in the afternoon when I'd hoped to be outside, we had a real gully-washer.  Wind gusts thrashed the trees and turned the rain into clouds.  It turned the barkbutter balls to mush.  Earlier, I saw blue jays and bluebirds.  A mockingbird showed up afterward for some mush.  The rain chilled the air.  I didn't trust the weather and didn't like the chill so I stayed indoors.  In the late afternoon the sun lit up trees across the lake.  Sunset turned the remaining clouds ornage. 

A window of sunshine

Orange daylilies joined the yellow that had been blooming for over a week.  The pink evening primrose looked battered from the rain. A few buds opened on the butterfly milkweed.  I missed shots at a blue jay, a bluebird, a mockingbird, but a cardinal posed.  

Strange ripples in the creek suggested mysterious forces at work below.  Two goose families paddled upstream.  One family with three goslings seemed fairly laid back but the other family with six goslings had them all in a straight line.  

And more rain

The seed eaters were OK - cardinals, house finches, and chickadees.  I saw a red bellied woodpecker try for some suet, but it left quickly.  I don't know if something scared it, or if the suet had gone off or was too wet.  The barkbutter certainly was too soggy.  A bluebird looked at it and turned away.  Rain streaks made photography useless.  

Rain

The light was dim, the glass was streaked, the birds' food was wet, it was a rotten day for observing nature.  There were some breaks in the rain.I saw a male bluebird but he saw the dog.  Two mockingbirds came from barkbutter balls.  I think they were a pair.  But They kept giving me the cold shoulder.  Two male cardinals came for seeds.  One had a full red crest but the other was going bald.  In other news, I found a tick-ick-ick! 

Cold front

At breakfast, a bluebird gave me a dirty look so I refilled the dish feeders.  I put out hummer juice as well since it was so much cooler.  Then I spent the morning cooking.  After lunch, I dithered a while but finally decided to get in the water.  The air at 72° was cooler than the water at 78°.  Yesterday the water felt brisk, today warm.  The wind was still pushing clouds from West to East but a cold front went through last night.  

A dragonfly passed overhead while I was in the water.  I rescued (evicted) four spiders I suspect were male wolf spiders.  They were able to run on the surface of the water which makes me nervous.   I saw a honeybee on the rue again.  

Blue jays and bluebirds feasted on the barkbutter balls.  A Carolina wren scurried around on the ground.  The female cardinal took over the seed feeder leaving the male to scrounge on the ground.  What a change from winter. 

Finally, dragonflies!

It was a little cooler today, but not much.  Bluebirds came for breakfast.  Because of my schedule, I had a morning swim.  I saved a bumblebee but a skink had already drowned.  A bronze damselfly danced just above the water.  It was too big for a forktail damselfly, so probably a dancer or a bluet.  (Not all bluets are blue.)  I also saw several dragonflies circling the house.  I think one might have been a female pondhawk and another a darner, but only one of them stopped briefly for me.  I believe it was a female great blue skimmer.

When I got out, I surprised a yellow crowned night heron.  The yellow daylily bloomed and the other plants had buds.  There were blossoms on the magnolia.  Three cabbage whites flitted around the plants but didn't alight.  Another skink saw me and dashed under vegetation, but forgot its tail.  

Three crows hunted something along the shoreline.  Earlier, one of them had tried to figure out a way to get some barkbutter balls.  A Carolina wren cleaned up spilled bird food. 

99°

I saw very little - it was just too hot.  Birds must have visited the feeders when I wasn't looking.  I did glimpse a blue jay.  Finches ate seeds.  The bugs in the water had all drowned by the time I got in.  At dusk, something caused the water to slosh so much I thought a goose had landed, but I could not see any cause.  

Scorcher!

The upper 90s in May does not bode well for Summer.  At least the humidity was low and there was a stiff breeze.  The heat brought flowers on fast and withered others.  I didn't see much except for bees and wasps.  

Big beetle

The temperature rose very fast so I took my pool time in the morning.  By doing so, I saved a large black beetle and a little ladybird.  Also a very small robber fly.  Bees and wasps managed to stay out of the water.  

A mockingbird landed on the barkbutter dish while I was beside it.  The bird panicked.  I also saw bluebirds, blue jays, and the female pileated woodpecker.  A small heron, probably a night heron, sailed over the house.  

Cool

Although sunny, the temperature was back down in the 70s.  I think the breeze was from the North.  Honeybees were drinking up the sticky rue nectar.  I wonder how that honey will taste?  A few wasps were also attracted to the rue, but they were more choosy than honeybees about the flowers.  A little sweat bee prowled around the roses. 

After I put out mealworms with barkbutter balls on top, bluebirds and blue jays flocked to the feeder dishes.  The female bluebird got the upper dish this time.  A Carolina wren cleaned up what dropped on the ground. 

I gave the hibiscus sprouts a good soaking of neem oil.  Peering through the construction mess across the creek, I was able to make out one turtle in the lake.  The feral cat sat at the far end of the pool as though watching the construction.  

 

Still hot

Another hot day - the pool water warmed three degrees and the humidity dropped to the lowest I've ever seen, 28%.  The bluebirds were sad over their weathered barkbutter.  I discovered that sunflower seeds in the feeder had germinated!   Honebees feasted on the rue.  So did a yellow jacket.  And a cabbage white.  And a soldier beetle. 

I found a tiny spider hard at work building a web.  I rescued a ladybird, a scarab, a couple of ground beetles a tiny green wasp, a bumblebee, and a couple of black waspy bugs that were clinging to each other.  They might have been flies.  They did not look friendly and I doubt they'll be grateful.  I suspect the ladybird and the scarab were dead, but I've been surprised at reviving insects before.  

Andy had a good roll in the violets.  

Lunar eclipse

The eclipse began yesterday and that's when I took the photos but it extended well past midnight.  The moon was redder than I expected, but I could not get the camera to resolve surface features.  The light just wasn't strong enough.  I am thankful that the clouds waited and let me see a blood moon eclipse.  

The morning got really hot and fairly sticky.  Our thermometer read 90°.   That made me determined to get into the pool.  But then a ferocious storm roared in with gusts I thought would uproot trees.  Hard rain pounded the pavement and the temperature dropped ten degrees.  It was all over in 45 minutes so back out I went.  The daylily did indeed bloom. 

The pool water was 68° which turned my feet red.  But I stayed in till something started biting me.  I rescued two ladybird beetles and a scarab.  Also a small wasp.  A pair of red bellied woodpeckers worried about visiting the suet while I was outside.  They gave up.  I heard a brown headed nuthatch squeak, but didn't see it.  Blue jays were back. 

Hot & sticky

Apparently more rain fell in the night but the sun was out in the morning.  Bluebirds came for breakfast.  I was slow getting outside and the temperature had reached 80°.  A baby praying mantis was still guarding the strawberry planter.  A paper wasp sat on a mountain mint leaf.  A daylily bud looked ready to open.  A fitful breeze made little impression on my comfort and none on the creek surface.  By the time I had planted eight sunflower seeds, sweat was dripping off my nose so I retired to the air conditioning.    

An orange butterfly was too fast for me.  It did not pay attention to the milkweed so I don't know if it was a male monarch or some other kind of orange butterfly.  There may have been a few dragonflies but I couldn't be sure they weren't wasps.  Birds flitted through the tree leaves - I think one was a goldfinch.  There were at least three blue jays.  

K came up with more outdoor work that bathed me in sweat.  As I recuperated inside, the cardinal pair acted their rom-com.  He landed on the feeder, she on the hanger above.  And she waited.  When it was past time he should have offered her a seed, she descended by increments to see what was keeping him.  He was stuffing himself, so she tried to land beside him.  But the feeder is calibrated to close at the weight of two cardinals (or one blue jay).  So the perch tipped them off and they both left.  I hope she gave him a good scolding.  

The sky stayed hazy with many clouds blowing out of the West.  I hope it's not too cloudy for the eclipse.  A Carolina wren found where I had spilled barkbutter porridge attempting to drain off rainwater.  The wren happily helped itself.  A male red belied woodpecker came for suet.  The suet had got turned so that I couldn't see smaller birds like the nuthatch but the woodpecker was too big to hide.  I went out afterward and turned the suet around.  

The eclipse is supposed to begin at 10:30 and be full at 11:30pm and last into Monday.  The May full moon is at perigee, its closest approach to Earth this month.  Apparently perigee does not always coincide with a full moon, but neither does an eclipse.  And the shadowed moon is supposed to be reddish because of Rayleigh scattering. 

More rain

The humidity was a visible grayness in the air.  Alas, I was on the computer during the dry times. A mockingbird defied the wet to get barkbutter porridge.  The rain streaks made photography frustrating.  A nuthatch was drier underneath the suet.  In between showers, the male, then the female, pileated ate suet.  

A squirrel wanted some too, but close up, the secret ingredient warned it off.  A second squirrel foraged among the violets, popping up like a prairie dog to make sure nothing was creeping closer.  The two were wary of each other which makes me suspect the one on the post may have been a female not quite in heat.  

An ant explored the mountain mint but there were no sign of flowers.  The butterfly milkweed, on the other hand, had buds already.  The lavender was in full bloom.  Clouds streamed out of the South, but a higher layer moved slowly Northeast.  

I saw a disturbance just below the surface of the creek.  Lttle patches of roughness slid around near the shore and then fish jumped further out toward the middle.  Something dark was visible in the middle of the ripples.  Meanwhile, a honeybee fed on the rue.  A bluebird posed for me. 

Midday downpour

At last the wind left us.  The morning started off foggy, then cleared and the sun warmed us up to a reasonable May temperature, though humid.  The tide dropped back into its normal range and the creek surface was glassy.  Red bellied woodpeckers worked on the suet.  Occasionally one would forget that only the bottom was accessible.  The brown headed nuthatches took suet or seeds, whichever wasn't in use. 

I felt sorry for the birds and put some barkbutter balls out hoping it would all get eaten before the predicted storm.  Blue jays certainly tried!  Bluebirds were more interested in defending the territory than eating.  Titmice stuck to seeds. for some reason.  A Carolina wren ate suet then hunted for any fallen barkbutter balls.  The male pileated woodpecker had a turn at the suet but something disturbed him and he hiked down and up the post.  I thought I saw an osprey but maybe the woodpecker knew better? 

By noon the sky clouded over and the light dimmed.  Around 1pm, the thunderstorm blasted through, followed by a drenching rain the likes of which we haven't had for weeks.  Eventually the rain passed and the sun returned, but the humidity was horribly sticky.  I dumped rainwater off the remains of the barkbutter and the female bluebird pronounced it acceptable.  Slugs had ascended into the rue and were hanging out atop the flowers.  I had never seen that before but it makes me fear for our strawberries.  I found a glass snail among the pebbles in the french drain.  Haze in the East reflected the sunset, which would really confuse a forensic auditor of photographs.  

Dank mist

The brown thrasher pair were back.  So were brown headed nuthatches.  The day was colder and wetter than predicted, especially in the late afternoon.  The wind was not so strong but the tide still rose over the dock.  Even the ducks got out of the water.  

Drizzle

The gray sky and chilly air continued to make the birds hungry enough to fight the wind.  And the wind was not quite so fierce nor the tide quite so high today.  But a drizzle set in around 2:30 in the afternoon.  A white breasted nuthatch tried to get a meal but bigger birds kept pushing it aside.  The red bellied woodpecker got the same treatment from the pileated.  Meanwhile the brown headed nuthatch had no problem getting its fill.  Two brown thrashers, a mockingbird, bluebirds, and a myrtle warbler visited but I did not refill the barkbutter feeder on account of the rain prediction.  I planted a coral lily that i had pulled up with its bulb attached.  

Butterbutts!

The creek was still up to its rim and over the dock thanks to the gale blowing out of the Northeast.  The brown headed nuthatches were busy all day eating suet, then getting a sunflower seed "to go."  I don't know how many there were but I'm certain it was more than one. One of them investigated the barkbutter balls.   

A pair of brown thrashers and two mockingbirds visited.  Two male bluebirds disputed the territory.  A blue jay made lightning raids on the barkbutter balls.  The male red bellied woodpecker dithered a while before hopping onto the suet cage.  Sometimes he forgot and hopped onto the top side.  

Three starlings tried their darnedest to get to the suet, in vain.  Leaving the plastic in place and hanging the suet upside down really worked.  They resorted to picking up crumbs instead of dropping them.  

A yellow rumped warbler feasted on barkbutter balls  Then it joined up with another to look for suet crumbs.  Their plumage was somewhere between winter and summer.but they didn't look like they were molting.  

A female cardinal waved what looked like a torn bit of paper but might have been part of a seed pod.  Apparently that was very sexy because the male joined her and the paper was dropped so they could "bill."  

High winds and water

Just like yesterday, the mockingbird was up first but nothing was satisfactory.  One or more brown headed nuthatches soon followed, eating both suet and seeds.  The male red bellied woodpecker tackled the suet.  It was just out of reach from the post so the woodpecker had to cling to the cage to eat.  

Bluebirds let me know they expected better than soggy barkbutter.  So I put out fresh food.  Then a squirrel dithered about whether to climb the post and the birds all departed.  The squirrel had a piece of its left ear missing, so it will be identifiable. 

Blue jays got some barkbutter but I didn't get photos.  The female pileated woodpecker returned.  So did the flood waters.  It was hard to see past the construction equipment across the creek, but turtles were out basking.  A yellow crowned night heron perched on the fence. 

Flood

The North wind was the main culprit in driving the creek over the dock, but there was also rain.  Normally, the moon in the first quarter (or third) has the least effect on the tide because it is partially cancelled by the sun, except for this wind which "the National Weather Service in Wakefield predicts will drive waters 5.9 feet above low tide levels by 3:30 p.m."  Buchanan Creek was the closest tide measuring station.  

 Wind-blown rain made it hard to see the feeders, much less take pictures, but the mockingbird ignored it all in favor of barkbutter balls.  A wet female bluebird sheltered under the suet and ate breakfast.  A very disheveled brown headed nuthatch wanted seeds.  

The male red bellied woodpecker had wet shoulders and head with feathers sticking up in spikes.  A pair of goldfinches paid a very brief visit.  I didn't see the male until too late to get a picture.  When a male bluebird showed up, he too was all wet. The woodpecker had a confrontation with the female bluebird.  

Gusts of rain were visible passing up the creek.  A great egret sailed in and landed by the fence.  It stalked past and then took off. 

Gray and dank

I was gone for a full workday which was mostly overcast, windy, and dank anyway.  There were birds before and after.  At breakfast, a Carolina wren worked on the under surface of the suet.  

When I got home, bluebirds and a brown thrasher seemed so disappointed that I put out some barkbutter balls, despite the predicted rain. A red bellied woodpecker was fine with the upside down suet.  A brown headed nuthatch refused to pose so I took a picture of a chickadee instead, to remind me.  Toward evening, damp air became mist. 

Creepy-crawlies

A mockingbird was an early bird but the camera failed.  Bluebirds were not far behind.  The camera had no trouble focusing on birds' rear ends.  I missed a nuthatch, however.  A starling was frustrated by the plastic above the suet.  Morning was sunny and the creek was quiet except for the construction projects.  

At lunch time I saw a couple of skinks.  Afterward, I got outside for a short while but the construction noise and vibrations were too much for me.  Lots of wasps were hunting.  A female cardinal in the red cedar appeared to be hunting too.  Caterpillars?  

I saw too many hibiscus sawflies just waiting for shoots to push out of the ground.  One of the wasps turned out to be a jumping spider.  A tiny reddish long-legged fly loitered around the money plant.  And I found a ladybird beetle on the rue.  The afternoon clouded over, grew dark,  and finally the promised thunderstorms began to roll through accompanied by dire weather predictions.  

Gosling invasion

A brown headed nuthatch had fun with the upside-down suet.  The nuthatch also checked out the barkbutter and the sunflower seeds.  A Carolina wren also successfully ate suet.  A female bluebird was happy with the fresh barkbutter balls.  She looked worn out. 

Around lunch time geese brought their goslings to the pool.  It did not go well..  I learned that goslings turn into submarines when you try to help them out.  The geese and the dog set up an amazing commotion, drowning out the construction mess across the creek.  And of course the geese left poop all over.

A cabbage white butterfly investigated the violets.  A blue-tailed skink sauntered across the top step.  The neighbors' elderberry was in bloom. 

A yellow crowned night heron perched on one of the dock posts while the wind blew its crown feathers sideways.  The gusty wind kept the tide up, though the day was warmer and sunnier than expected.  

Rain

The temperature went back up but that brought on thunderstorms.  Little water accumulated until early evening when a gentle but steady rain began.  I missed the brown thrasher that visited early.  I had better luck with bluebirds and the brown headed nuthatch. 

Now it's not

Not hot, that is.  I was very cold at lunch though the temperature was in the 60s.  Earlier I had been outside messing with the feeders and just a little chilly.  But by lunchtime the wind was strong and dank.  The pileated woodpeckers quickly figured out the new suet arrangement.  The male had a broken feather.  Geese brought at least three goslings into the yard.  I growled at them and they hurriedly departed downhill. 

I watched the bluebirds ferry food to their young ones.  It turned out that they too figured out how to get at the suet. Toward evening the air grew misty. and well after dark a thunderstorm passed through.  

Still hot

There were a lot of clouds quickly moving East.  Birds ate all the suet and I did not rush to replace it.   The male pileated was outraged.  I did hang another block of suet but this time I left the plastic on with only the lower surface open for dining.  A Carolina wren tapped on the plastic and flew off without further investigation.  But I know the wrens, nuthatches, warblers, and woodpeckers can eat from underneath.I hope the starlings cannot. 

The bluebirds looked for barkbutter balls but only found the disintegrated powder left behind so they weren't happy either.  An osprey plunged into the creek and went completely under but pushed its way back into the air with the fish it had caught.  I saw lots of activity under the water surface but I could not tell what it meant.  Something streaked across the water like a flying fish. 

The yellow rose opened fully in the heat.  I tried to do some yard work and ended up sweaty again.  The wretched lirope was fighting back.  I sprayed neem oil on the mountain mint and discovered the butterfly milkweed had popped up.  So had the pink milkweed that hasn't bloomed yet and might be swamp milkweed, Asclepius incarnata or common milkweed Asclepias syriaca.  I rescued a wasp or fly or possibly a winged ant from the water.  Another had drowned. 

Sweaty

We had a lovely May Day, but I dressed too warmly for an excursion to the Botanic Garden.  Before that, I had little luck with the back yard.  I missed skinks, bluebirds, red bellied woodpeckers, and more.  At NBG, Irises and spatterdock bloomed in ponds.  

I spotted a chipping sparrow on a construction fence.  A robin ran down a path.  One pond was full of turtles and a mallard pair.  The loop trail I picked was longer than I expected.  Combined with the heat, I was well melted.  I thought I took a lot more pictures than I came home with.  Strange.