Thunderstorm

In the morning, ospreys circled in an intensely blue, almost ultraviolet, sky.  A house wren visited the seed feeder, then surveyed the yard from atop the post.  Blue jays went straight to the barkbutter balls.  A hummingbird found the feeder after trying the gladiolus.  Those flowers certainly look like they were meant for hummers.

Fertilized sunflowers had a Raggedy Ann look as the petals withered. The sakaki perfume dominated the air.  There were buds on the hibiscus and shredded leaves from the larval sawflies. 

Bumblebees and wasps and a Japanese beetle visited the rue.  A female widow skimmer perched on a bamboo stake by the mountain mint.  Earlier, I saw another dragonfly that was just a flicker of black and white.I suspect it was a male widow skimmer.  I rescued several flower scarabs and one firefly.  A skipper and a snout butterfly fed on the mountain mint along with carpenter bees and wasps. 

Several menacing clouds blew over without doing anything during the day.  The storm finally came through around 5:30pm and at least one lightening bolt was directly overhead.  The donner und blitzen was accompanied bu a downpour.  NOAA issued another flash flood warning.  The storm cleared and chilled the air.  Afterward, a great blue heron roosted on the dock bench.