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.
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