Fresh and clean

Judging from the ant moat, we got between one and two inches of rain over night.  I hope the seeds I planted were encouraged.  This morning, I was planting some more moonflower seeds when I uncovered a glass snail.  The sky was lapis lazuli blue with shreds of cumulus. All the leaves looked scrubbed and shiny.  Loads of buds crowded the red rose and the yellow rose had a new bud too.  The money plant flowers got very small.  I wonder if they will be bigger after this good soaking rain? I saw what I think was a silver spotted skipper and a tiger swallowtail. 

A mockingbird was the first to notice that I had put out fresh food, but it got away.  Then a blue jay visited but I only caught it flying away.  Finally a male bluebird posed.  He got feisty and evicted a female downy woodpecker from the suet.  Chickadees and cardinals went for seeds. Skinks were busy in the middle of the day and I may have saved them from the feral cat.  I saw one with a blue tail, one with a regrown tail, and one with a very red head. 

The male pileated woodpecker came for supper.  So did the mockingbird, so I got a picture after all.