The brown thrasher came back at breakfast. The creek was peaceful but I had meetings. At lunch, a scruffy mockingbird wanted barkbutter balls. An equally rumpled Carolina wren followed. House finches looked the worse for wear. Even the bluebirds were molting. That didn't stop a female from stuffing her beak like a blue jay. Goldfinches, however, were still on their honeymoon.
A brown headed nuthatch looked a bit ruffled. It only had a tiny white spot on the back of its head. I wonder if that is an indicator of age? Cornell was no help. The finches were fighting again and bullying smaller birds. Some blue jays looked presentable but others had lost feathers. A hummer tried to feed from the canna.
It was much warmer in the afternoon, but cloudy and buggy. I found a bullfrog in the skimmer and had to prod it to leave. Later I evicted it from the pool and it looked very shocked that it had been caught. Unfortunately, I found two dead skinks and I think I smelled some of the previous corpses. But I also rescued three live skinks and a field cricket. Two skinks ran off right away but the third was too tired. I hope it recovered.
I found a spent morning glory in a spot not visible from the house. Black swallowtail caterpillars were still eating and growing on the rue. A monarch flew past but didn't stop at the leafless butterfly milkweed. A yellow rose opened. The hibiscus was still blooming.
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