Chilly

By lunch, a white sky dimmed the sun and the breeze came in chilly gusts.  The caterpillars were all still present and I located the three Argiope spiders, though one had moved up to the wall above the door which seemed like an odd place to hang out.  It also seemed strange that the monarch caterpillars chewed on the milkweed pods which I'd think would be tougher than leaves, not to mention needful for future generations of caterpillars.  

I found a defunct cicada afloat.  The millipede, Oxidus gracili, from yesterday was definitely a goner.  On the other hand, I rescued another millipede, an isopod, a wasp, a small brown spider, and four pale green assassin bugs, two of which were quite lively.  The other two were tangled together and I moved them near one that was recovering.  It scuttled over to investigate, and possibly cannibalize!  A red spotted purple briefly danced over the water.  Dogwood leaves began to lose their chlorophyll.  Beautyberries turned magenta.  A Carolina wren hid behind rose thorns.  I startled a young skink.  This has been a memorably dry August.  Rainfall was only 1.6" and the average is 5.8" though I'm sure that includes some hurricanes.  

Dark butterflies

The sun shone.  Two female hummers showed up at their feeder and the chase was on.  A Carolina wren craved suet and a titmouse did too.  

I did glimpse an orange butterfly and later a monarch, but the dark ones stole the show.  A spicebush swallowtail tried to get nectar from a rose.  A black swallowtail made the rounds, returning to the rue where I found the caterpillars and the chrysalis again.  I found the monarch caterpillar as well.  Red spotted purples danced over the water, dipping down to touch it, then hanging off the side, resting on the concrete, decorating the trees, and fluttering every which way.  

All three spiders were prospering.  I fished a centipede and a couple of millipedes out of the water.  One millipede revived immediately and hustled away.  The centipede moved so I assume it survived, unless the hot concrete killed it.  The other millipede rolled itself up and I don't know if that was a good or bad sign.  In the evening, a great blue heron fished from the neighbors' floating dock as ours was upended by Erin.  

 

Sunny

At breakfast I saw a female hummer.  A monarch, a dark butterfly, and some small fliers flitted around the afternoon.  Four caterpillars munched on the rue and I found one small one on the milkweed, gnawing a pod.  I moved it to some nice leaves.   Also, I finally located the egg-laying Argiope which had relocated down behind the azalea.  The black cat and the orange cat prowled through the backyard and I think the orange one ran through a web. .  

 

Cloudy

The wind ruffled feathers as a great blue heron perched on a dock piling.  I saw a little azure flitting around the beautyberry.  It might be what ate the leaves off one branch.  More berries turned red.  I swam, and disposed of a very dead skink, despite dark clouds that discouraged lingering.  The spiders each had a snack wrapped up.  I startled a Carolina wren on the patio.  After I put out fresh hummer juice, a female appeared.  

Hawk

In a change, the morning Carolina wren went for barkbutter balls instead of suet.  A blue jay had the same idea.  One of the spiders disappeared.  The other was in the web by the side window that the bigger spider had built.  I could not be sure which it was.  Meanwhile, K found another egg sack attached to a front window frame.  The third spider in the web behind the bench was quite still.  

Now I know why all the birds disappeared!  A very streaky bird that was clearly some kind of hawk landed on the patio.  The streaks suggest it was a juvenile bird. and It seemed about the size of a Cooper's hawk.  Pictures on Cornell's site match up.  

I rescued another young skink.  An orange butterfly crossed the yard without pausing and a skimmer dragonfly tried to perch on the crook from which the feeder dishes hang.  A weevilish beetle hiked across the concrete.  The chrysalis looked more golden today.  A pals silver-spotted skipper appeared to find nectar on a rose.  

Chrysalis and sack of eggs

Again the Carolina wren breakfasted with us.  The seed eaters were up early as well.  When I went to swim, I located three black swallowtail caterpillars on the rue, but the caterpillar that was quiet yesterday made a chrysalis overnight, right where it had been.  Something kept biting me and cut short my swim.  An adult black swallowtail rested on a morning glory leaf.  So did a long-legged fly.

And the larger Argiope made a brown bag of eggs.  However, the mother spider left its web and moved around the corner to the spot where the smaller spider had been, beside an outside light.  And the smaller spider?  It scooted to the other edge of that door pane, as far as it could get from the big one.  

Pleasant

The weather seemed to have a theme for late August, post Erin.  The days have been sunny, breezy, and mellow 80s.  As usual, a Carolina wren and a house finch were the first visitors of the day.  Small, shredded cumulus clouds drifted out to sea.  Erin did not blow the hummers away, not even the male.  I got many pictures of his gilded gorgeousness today.  

Birds nibbled unenthusiastically on the shriveled wild cherries. A blue dasher obelisked on a perch but soon gave up.  I don't know why because there certainly were mosquitoes.  There were butterflies but they were unwilling to be identified.  I am still wondering what ate the leaves off one branch of the beautyberry.  I don't mind the leaf loss, I just want to know that king of butterfly or moth to expect.  The "authorities" all say beautyberry has no insect pests which is not helpful.  

While swimming, I rescued a black bee and a weary skink.  I thought I saw a frog but, if so, it disappeared.  Another blue-tailed skink crept down the steps.  The lobes of the fungus make it look a bit like an unfolding flower.  The largest black swallowtail caterpillar looked like it was thinking of pupating.  The largest Argiope caught its dinner while we ate ours.  They are so still most of the time that it is startling how quickly they move to secure prey.  A young cardinal foraged around the birdbath.  

 

Cicada

The morning sky was white from a thin overcast and not much was happening at breakfast time.  Cornell shared a link for a Fall bird Migration Dashboard but it indicates this is not yet the time for Virginia.  A Carolina wren finally came for suet.  The spiders were, of course, patient.  Around 2pm, the sky cleared enough for sunshine.  Fluffy cumulus blew away to the West while a high layer of cirrocumulus slid slowly East.  I went outside and a cicada buzzed past to land on the feeder post.  A blue dasher decided that was way too big a bug.  

The clouds dissipated and the sun became very hot.  The fungus under the oak seemed bigger but still looked like fresh bread.  Some beautyberry clusters showed a hint of red.  I located the three black swallowtail caterpillars again, though I was expecting the biggest one to have gone off to pupate.  It looked like it might stay right there for the change. 

Lots of butterflies were on the wing but few stopped to pose.  One that did was a dark swallowtail that I think might be a dark phase tiger swallowtail.  It rested on a dogwood leaf long enough for me to get out of the water, get the camera, and stalk it.  Eventually it flew to a lower bush and then danced in the air with another dark butterfly.  It disappeared, then a dark butterfly I thought was the same one flew to the top of the wild cherry where it seemed to be laying eggs.  Seeing the wings against the bright sky lent some proof to the tiger hypothesis.  

A red spotted purple drank from the pool, then rested on the concrete.  Unlike the swallowtail, it was quite tattered.  Another, in better shape, rested on a maple leaf.  I also glimpsed a monarch, a hackberry emperor, a summer azure, a sleepy orange, and others I couldn't identify.  

In the late afternoon, a fresh sheet of cirrocumulus rolled out of the West.  It moved on through quickly and the sunlight returned.  A female widow skimmer landed on one of the perches, then switched to another.  A male hummer visited the feeder but the light didn't catch his gorget. 

Butterflies

A Carolina wren greeted the morning with suet for breakfast.  A downy followed.  The spiders hadn't moved.  The creek was quietly reflective now that the hurricane was gone.  I found three black swallowtail caterpillars and lots of evidence of hornworm feasting on ground cherry leaves, but no sign of the monarch caterpillars. 

There were clouds today but otherwise the morning was as nice as yesterday.  Butterflies thought so.  I saw a tiger swallowtail, a monarch, a dark butterfly that behaved like a red spotted purple and a small, yellow butterfly I think was a sleepy orange.  The name would fit because at noon it was trying to get nectar from a morning glory that had already been pollinated and was closing up.  Only the monarch cooperated with the camera.  

I rescued a small threadwaisted wasp and a bumblebee.  After my swim, a fig beetle sauntered across the patio.  Hummer wars were heating up.  I believe I counted three hummers zipping around preventing each other from drinking.  A male did get a good, long drink.  Wrens came back for more food.  A young cardinal with a dark beak and one crest feather foraged under the feeder.  Then to my surprise, a mockingbird sampled the barkbutter balls.  A titmouse followed. The afternoon  was frequently overcast and more humid.  I spent too much of it in a meeting.  

 

Gorgeous day

An early Carolina wren enjoyed suet.  I hung fresh sugar water in case the North wind blew any hummingbirds into migration, but I didn't see any.  Then I poured out some barkbutter balls since no rain was forecast.  Titmice were thick on the feeders, along with the usual three species.  A downy hung under the suet which cast diamond-pattern shadows on its belly.  A blue jay finally noticed the barkbutter balls in the afternoon.  

The wind off Hurricane Erin was still strong and, together with the dark of the moon, the tide ran very high.  It pulled up dock boards and capsized the floating end section.  A yellow crowned night heron paced along the shoreline.  The sky was a sharp, clear blue without a hint of haze.  I rescued a young skink that had lost the tip of its tail.  While there was plenty of tree detritus in the water, the only other animal was a field cricket.  A larger, older skink soaked up sun on the top step.  

A 5th instar brown marmorated stinkbug nymph Halyomorpha halys crawled on a morning glory vine.  Speaking of which, the morning glories were starting to bloom.  While I was outside filling feeders, I caught the early sunlight on the Argiope web.  The smaller Argiope was transitioning to adult coloring.  A monarch found the butterfly milkweed.   I counted a dozen green seedpods at all stages but I couldn't find the monarch caterpillars.  Instead, I saw a big, fat black swallowtail caterpillar on the rue.  It looked full grown but was more orange than green.  The third Argiope had a new web too.  I imagine the wind cluttered the previous one, if it didn't tear it down.  I saw a dark butterfly and a snout but they got away.  

High winds

Hurricane Erin was passing us and sending gusts of North wind with occasional drizzle.  A Carolina wren ventured out for suet.  A titmouse and a nuthatch came for seeds.  Debris cluttered the spider's web but it caught dinner anyway.  .I could not persuade myself to swim.  

 

Cicada killer

The cicada killer wasp was floating in the water and I rescued it very carefully.  It slowly revived and eventually flew away.  I also fished out a black and green caterpillar but I think it was a goner.  When I was coming back to the house, a male widow skimmer alighted on one of the bamboo perches.  

A very young skink climbed the feeder post.  Luck for it, no hungry bird happened to be visiting at the time.  Grown skinks often climb the brick walls of the house but I've no idea why climbing appeals to skinks.  Watered-down sunlight came through the cloud cover but no rain fell.  A fine, new fungus popped up under the oak.  At this stage it looks to me like slices of bread   

A brown headed nuthatch visited the seed feeder.  A male and a female cardinal got into a fight at the feeder.  Since two pairs come to the feeder and one pair is dominant, I'm guessing the two birds were from different pairs.  A downy ate suet and titmice feasted on seeds and suet.  I dumped yesterday's rainwater out of the feeder dishes but didn't refill them because of the impending hurricane.  

 

Rain

Rain fell overnight and left everything wet under a gray overcast.  The rain started up again in the mid afternoon and tapered off around dusk. Intrepid Carolina wrens would not be deterred from the suet, nor house finches from the seeds.  An egret watched the creek from atop a post.  Moisture clung to the spider webs.  The low light persuaded the moonflowers on the front patio to open in the afternoon.  

Starlings

After months without them, starlings reappeared and brought a youngster.  They aimed for barkbutter balls but a blue jay was not willing to share and scared them off.  Meanwhile, the molting brown thrasher had a large suet breakfast.  It was followed by the Carolina wren pair.  

 

Soaring buzzards

 Two buzzards circled over the creek with each loop a bit further upstream.  

 

Lost-and-found spider

A variegated fritillary danced around the patio and a black swallowtail.  Later while I was swimming and couldn't take a picture, a monarch visited the milkweed.  I rescued a small skink with no tail and a large green caterpillar.  I did not see the caterpillar revive though.  A great blue skimmer dragonfly hunted from one of the garden stakes.   It appeared to me that the young spider in the window was beginning to get adult orange on its legs.  I've never watched that change before.  The spider I disturbed last week by the rose bush surfaced in a new web behind the bench.  

The pair of Carolina wrens shared the suet.  They either enjoy each other's company or they don't trust each other out of sight.   In the afternoon, one preened on a dead branch in the dogwood.  A buzzard circled overhead.  Toward evening, a white breasted nuthatch came for seeds.  

 

Humid

At breakfast, the humidity completely fogged the windows.   Yesterday evening's downpour soaked everything.  

 A tiger swallowtail flitted through the trees.  I thought I glimpsed a chipping sparrow but it was gone so quickly I can't be sure.  

Because of meetings, I swam in the early afternoon under the hot sun.  A small skink scurried along the pool deck.  A large, mostly white, contour feather floated down and landed gently on the water.  An Asian horntail landed less gently, but I rescued it and also a small black wasp.  They both took off without waiting for me to take pictures.  

The wind shifted back around to the Northeast and hustled clouds along briskly.  It helped make the humidity bearable though just breathing reminded me of being in a laundromat with a fan blowing.  

Thunderstorm

The suet-loving Carolina wren was up early.  A white breasted nuthatch repeatedly visited the suet, as did the Carolina wren.  Another fledgling cardinal showed up with papa bringing it food from the feeder.  A molting bluebird (a fledgling, I think) landed on the post, got a drink from the ant moat, inspected the empty barkbutter dish, then turned to the suet.  

A fresh search of the milkweed revealed two monarch caterpillars.  One was eating flowers and the other was hiding under a leaf.  When I checked the rue, the two minuscule black swallowtail caterpillars had more than doubled in size.  A wasp was prowling around the canna.  The little Argiope there looked about the same.  I couldn't find any caterpillars there, but bare stalks of ground cherry proved at least one was at work.  Something ate all the leaves off a beautyberry branch, leaving the berries alone.  

In the water I encountered the crab I spotted yesterday.  It tried to pinch my toes but its claws were too small.  Anyway, I caught it and set it on the patio as I thought it was a mud crab, not a swimmer.  It scuttled into an expansion joint but I hope it later made its way back downhill to the creek.  A dark skipper hunted for the few remaining mountain mint flowers.  I glimpsed a prince baskettail on patrol overhead.  

Dramatic clouds piled up to the South and West and the prophesied storm finally arrived around 6pm.  There wasn't a lot of lightning but plenty of rain fell.  By the time it stopped, the light was failing, but I saw the intrepid wren come back for more suet.  A downy followed.  A very wet cardinal landed on the seed feeder.  

Crab

A downy woodpecker and a Carolina wren shared a breakfast of suet.  A brown headed nuthatch chose seeds.  Two brown headed nuthatches clung to the chain from which the suet hung.  A blue jay bemoaned the empty barkbutter dish.  A fuzzy, molting bluebird settled for seeds.  A fledgling house finch carried on asking to be fed.  Another blue jay walked around the patio while a white breasted nuthatch peered around the post, then showed the house finches who was boss.  

The Argiope spiders waited in their webs, the smaller one reflected in the window.   A wasp was afloat on its back and I very carefully scooped it out of the water and left it to dry, but it never showed any sign of life.  A widow skimmer perched on the back of the bench to watch for flying food.  Later, a slaty skimmer and a blue dasher took up the work.  A skink came out of the vegetation and froze when it noticed me.  

I thought I saw something peculiar on the bottom of the pool.  It seemed to sprout appendages from both front and rear as it moved purposefully across the bottom.  I used a broom to scoop it onto the top step and discovered it was a small crab.  It had been moving crabwise and what I took for front and rear were the legs on its sides.  They were all legs, no paddles, so it wasn't a blue crab.  

In the front yard, skippers fed on the lantana.   Four full grown Argiope spiders waited for food to arrive.  I noticed a small paper wasp nest along with many mud dauber nests.  A couple of bald faced hornets prowled around the lantana.  

 

Yellow crowned night herons

The wind finally shifted around to the West and blew cumulus clouds out to the Atlantic.  In between the clouds, the sunshine felt strong.   Again, a Carolina wren was the early bird, seeking suet to start the day.  A blue jay was disappointed to find only crumbs.  A fledgling bluebird landed on the seed feeder but didn't partake.  A second wren joined the first.  Then a red bellied woodpecker wanted suet.  

To avoid a possible afternoon storm, I swam in the morning.  But first, I went looking for the horntail caterpillar and found a skink instead.  Also, yet another Argiope, this one still at the striped leg stage.  A red spotted purple butterfly floated near me as I swam and it rested on the volunteer redbud.  Of course when I got out it was gone.  In the afternoon, I saw a buckeye, a tiger swallowtail, and two monarchs.  A great blue skimmer and a blue dasher were the only dragonflies.  A skink hiked up the brick wall of the house.  It amazes me that their little legs are so strong and so fast. 

After lunch, hummers visited their feeder.  I think one also visited the roses at the bottom of the hill.  A cranky, molting crow paced the roof and scared the songbirds off the feeders.  When they flew back, a white breasted nuthatch landed under the suet.  After It had enough, it moved to the seeds.  Young titmice tried everything.  Blue jays discovered I'd added fresh barkbutter balls to the dish.  The juvenile cardinal discovered wild cherries.  I glimpsed a mockingbird in the dogwood.  It was probably after either dogwood berries or wild cherries.  A great crested flycatcher was mostly hidden by leaves.  

Then a yellow crowned night heron landed in the redwood.  It bounced in and out of view and it wasn't till they flew off that I realized I'd been seeing two of them, just never at the same moment.   Rain fell in the afternoon and left the air very humid.  

 

Rabbit

A pair of goldfinches came for breakfast but didn't find anything to their taste.  Bluebirds were easier to please.  The juvenile cardinal discovered barkbutter balls.  It also ate seeds.  A couple of Carolina wrens ate suet.  Curiously, low clouds flowed quickly out of the Northeast while higher cumulus slowly drifted East.  I wonder if that indicated vertical wind shear?

Both spiders seemed fine and I discovered another web over by the rose, though it appeared deserted.  The young one still had black-and-white striped legs while the adult had all black except the section closest to her body which was orange.  Unexpectedly, rain fell just before lunch and the moisture outlined the orb webs.  Afterward, a prince baskettail dragonfly hunted at treetop height

During lunch, the brown thrasher was back, still a raggedy mess.  A white breasted nuthatch developed an attitude and bullied the house finches instead or the other way around.  A wet crow prowled around.  A brown headed nuthatch was able to get past the house finches to the seeds.  Another was frustrated and ate a bit of suet instead.    A couple of downy woodpeckers came for suet but I didn't get a good look at either one.  Blue jays argued over the barkbutter balls.  Titmice managed to get some.  

A skink paused in front of the violets.  In the mid afternoon, a cottontail grazed on the slope above the shoreline.  That made me notice that the spartina had filled in thickly this summer.  A green heron perched on the back of the dock bench.  The only wildlife I found while swimming was a mosquito but when I put my hand down on a chair arm something stung me.  

Skink

There was some sun but, all in all, it was mostly gray.  The pileated pair discovered that there was suet again.  As usual, he got his first.  A blue jay used to post to check out the menu.  I saw three butterflies again, a black swallowtail, a monarch, and a red spotted purple.  I was guessing based on their behavior as only the monarch stopped and it was out of focus.  And I found some very tiny caterpillars on the rue.  A female great blue skimmer dragonfly took up a guard post but didn't stay.  

 A young skink was swimming in the pool skimmer but reluctant to be rescued.    After I did catch it, the lizard rode my hand out of the pool and over to my camera.  I've learned the camera cannot focus on my hand so I had to put the skink down and hope it wouldn't run off immediately.  Graciously, it paused.  I didn't see anything else but leaves in the water.  Plenty of mosquitoes hung around just above the surface.  Later, a different, older skink crossed the step.  

While I was photographing hummers a fine drizzle fell.  I covered the camera with the washcloth that I'd been using to dry my hands after swimming.  That worked, but it probably looked ridiculous..  But who cares -- I got the male's ruby throat!   I was surprised that the female waited and didn't drive off the male.  

Sunshine, at last

At breakfast, a Carolina wren was eager to get started on the suet.  In addition to turning cherry and dogwood leaves, I saw red dogwood berries.  The weather ups and downs have confused some plants, I think.  The sky today was a clear, strong blue and the sun felt intense.  A white breasted nuthatch sampled the suet before returning to the seeds.  A brown headed nuthatch followed on the seed feeder.  A goldfinch watched but only had some water.  The wren returned with a friend.  

I saw three butterflies, a monarch, a tiger swallowtail, and what I thought was a red spotted purple.  A fig beetle was rafting on pine needles and a mama spider on a sinking leaf so I rescued them.  I saw something zoom in and out of the sunlight that might have been a cicada killer.  The mountain mint stopped blooming so there were few bees or wasps. The butterfly milkweed, on the other hand, was lush with no sign of caterpillars or other insects, and only one small seedpod.

 

Finches

A little rain fell overnight and the day was mostly overcast.  The Northeast wind was still blowing.  A bullying house finch refused to share the seeds.  Six other house finches and a brown headed nuthatch had to wait for her to leave.  Meanwhile, a supposed vegetarian goldfinch looked for barkbutter crumbs in the rainwater.  A pair of Carolina wrens appreciated the fresh block of suet.  A young cardinal whose beak was just starting to go orange wandered around the patio.  Lots of leaves and tree bits clogged the pool but I didn't see any critters.   I looked for the hornworm but it had disappeared.  The window opposite the computer was too dirty for the camera, but cleaning it would mean trampling plants.   

 

Brown thrasher

A brown headed nuthatch rose early despite the gloomy, overcast sky.  Titmice were thick on the feeders.  I glimpsed a hummer on the milkweed, but too much was in the way for a picture.  A white breasted nuthatch also visited the feeders.  A male downy worked on the remnant of suet but a Carolina wren thought the seeds looked like a better deal.  

A disheveled, molting brown thrasher thought about joining the breakfast suet queue.  Instead, a bluebird took over the suet cage but had some difficulty reaching the nubbin in the bottom.  The two species of nuthatch alternated on the seed feeder.  A blue jay came to see what was on the menu, but was disappointed because I didn't want to waste barkbutter balls if we had rain.  In the late morning, the male pileated appeared outraged by the lack of suet.  (By this time it was gone.)   

At lunch, all was well in spiderland.  A female hummer sipped from the feeder.  A blue jay poked throught the barkbutter crumbs I had dumped on the ground.  The pileated came back to see if suet had appeared.  (It had not.)  Another bluebird came for seeds.  A juvenile cardinal with its beak only half orange wandered the patio.  A Carolina wren prospected around the birdbath.  

Caterpillar!

The sky was still overcast and the wind from the Northeast, though not as strong..  Titmice were feeling surprisingly bold.  Bluebirds were hungry but wary.  A crow walked around the patio.  After I swam, I decided to pick figs.  The Argiope was gone and mosquitoes and bees were thick, but I picked plenty of ripe figs.  I also found a tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, busily devouring ground cherry leaves.  BugGuide has a side-by-side comparison with the tomato hornworm that was very helpful.  

Perhaps influenced by that Northeast wind, some cherry leaves started to show fall colors.  A skink looked for a warm spot but decided hiding was a better idea.  Bluebirds returned in the afternoon.  A male hummer visited the feeder till a titmouse spooked it.  I saw brown headed nuthatches but only got pictures of a white breasted nuthatch.  

 

Gloomy

The day was sunless and windless and the humidity encouraged mosquitoes.  A widow skimmer was on duty along with the spiders.  A monarch flitted around at lunch.  I rescued a rafting green June beetle, aka a fig beetle.  A green leafhopper, Siphanta acuta, came along with it.  Also I fished a mama spider and her little ones out of the skimmer.  

Geese made a big commotion on the creek.  A great blue heron preened on the dock.  The pileated pair visited the suet, one at a time.  Brown headed nuthatches queued up for seeds.  Bluebirds and blue jays came for barkbutter balls.  A Carolina wren made the rounds of the feeders.  I glimpsed a hummer.   

Rain lilies

A blue jay came for a barkbutter ball breakfast.  At lunch, a tiger swallowtail posed nicely.  Not to be outdone, a black swallowtail flitted around and pretended she really didn't care about the rue.  A blue dasher perched looking like a blue bead with wings.  Another dragonfly lurked among the leafless twigs of the dead branch in the dogwood. 

Titmice  were embolden by hunger.   Brown headed nuthatches were their usual bold selves.  A flock of pigeons passed overhead.  A hummer visited the feeder.  A bluebird surveyed the feeders from atop the post.  

K discovered a third Argiope in the front yard.  The rain lilies bloomed again.  Fragments of the yellow jacket nest were still visible -- they made it of tough material.  

Still windy

A bluebird wanted a barkbutter ball.  The female pileated wanted suet.  Later, when I was sitting outside, she stayed up in the oak.  I saw a hummer check out the fresh feeder but then it kept going.  Maybe the canna flowers looked tastier.  

K told me the Argiope that was minding the peppers relocated to our front door.  The other one that was watching the lantana moved around more to the front.  I couldn't find the spider I disturbed yesterday but the two in the windows were still in their same spots.   However, their webs were full of debris.  

A black swallowtail drank milkweed nectar.  A thread-waisted wasp landed on the rose.  A skipper I didn't recognize rested on a morning glory leaf.  Then I saw a peculiar wasp on another leaf.  A dragonfly perched atop the camellia.  

I cleared more tree trash out of the water and rescued a mama spider and her spiderlings.  The temperature got up to 80° but the wind peeled the warmth off my skin and then clouds blew in.  I surprised the common whitetail when I got out of the pool and he high-tailed it.  A skink crossed the top step.