I got up earlier than usual in order to make French toast my way. That meant I was done with breakfast when the birds wanted theirs. A threadbare Carolina wren had a little of this and that. A bald blue jay got greedy with the barkbutter balls. Brown headed nuthatches insisted on sunflower seeds.
Hazy sunshine reflected in the placid creek. A stink bug investigated the bird guano on the top of the seed feeder. There was a hint of red in some dogwood leaves but more of them looked scorched from lack of rain. The first cluster of beautyberries turned maroon. Dogwood berries were still a bit on the orange side of crimson, but something was eating them and leaving crumbs. Small strawberries ripened.
Humingbirds arrived for lunch and territorial battles. A cardinal's molt left him looking like he was wearing a bridle. Mallards took over the dock. I saw the great blue heron land up in the tree next door, but I was in the water at the time. The afternoon grew overcast though the sun was visible behind the stratus clouds.
The canna made a flower as did the red aster. A lichen garden spread over the back of the bench. A bumblebee, a threadwaisted wasp, and briefly a duskywing were the mountain mint's only visitors though I saw a monarch and a black swallowtail flitting elsewhere. I looked up Short-toothed Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) and it appears the brown flower heads have gone to seed, not become diseased. The spider mites seemed to have relocated to the poor rosemary. Aphids were back on the milkweed.
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