A couple of house finches went fishing or, at least, looked intently into the pool. Meanwhile, a goldfinch craved seeds. A bluebird wanted seeds too. And then a brown headed nuthatch and a titmouse joined the feeder crowd. Hummers finished off the sugar water so I put out some fresh. The brown thrasher was disappointed that I hadn't refilled the barkbutter dish but foraged under the seed feeder.. A mockingbird wanted water. A blue jay watched and commented. The bald cardinal was beginning to get new feathers but a female showed up in a terrible state of molt. A couple of other female cardinals got into a dispute. I think one was hatched this year. A dove wandered around. A downy woodpecker got a turn at the seeds. A white breasted nuthatch visited in the late afternoon.
The Argiope web was empty in the morning and gone by afternoon. In its place was a brown balloon of eggs. Southern purple mint moths investigated the mountain mint. Black swallowtail caterpillars were fattening on the rue. I started pruning the mountain mint to see if it would make more flowers and, without noticing, I cut off a branch a monarch had chosen for its chrysalis. I put the branch in a vase hoping it would keep the chrysalis supported and shaded. The gold markings really glittered and I could faintly see the developing wings. A small wasp worked on the mountain mint flowers.. I glimpsed some butterflies but none posed.
When I first got in the pool, the sun was painfully intense but when I got out, menacing clouds blocked it. A lot of leaves had fallen into the water. I saw two frogs but I caught three so were there really three or was one a recidivist? I also rescued a very young skink. As it panted on the concrete, a much bigger skink ambled by. The only bugs in the water were a couple of weevils and a spider I'm fairly sure was an orb weaver. The hibiscus did make one more flower. The volunteer sunflower
appeared to be doing well, though rain would help. Leaves were growing
on the butterfly milkweed.
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