Wet and windy

Hurricane Ian had quite a reach and brought more rain in one day than we saw in two months.  I had thought surely the recent wind had stripped trees of dead leaves, but there were more.  Lots more.  The seed feeder regulars got some sustenance but I didn't see any other birds.  High tide flowed over the dock and warped boards.  Wind gusts blew spray into white sheets.  And it was really noisy.  

Northeaster

High tide flowed over the low end of the dock, pushed by the gusty Northeast wind.  Leaves, twigs, and lots of pine needles blew into the pool.  I emptied the skimmer at least three times, maybe four.  And a drowned skink got away from me and went down the pipe. 

Most wildlife was in hiding but I found a colorful green stinkbug nymph (Chinavia hilaris) on the mountain mint. Neighbors fished in the high water but I didn't see them catch anything. Geese huddled in the lee of the bank across the creek. 

Goldenrod bloomed and the saltbush showed white tips.  Fern fronds were lined with spores.  But the sky was gray on gray.  Towards evening, a great blue heron stood on the dock facing into the wind.  Even so, its feathers took a beating.  Up on the lake, an egret preened while cormorants watched.  They were much more sheltered by the ridge on the east side of the lake.  .  

The gloomy sky turned crimson at sunset, but I had just downloaded the day's photos and the camera refused for cooperate.  I missed the vivid reds behind the commuting cormorants and only got the pale lavender twilight. 

Pair of orioles

The temperature barely cleared 70°F despite bright sunshine and a Southwest wind.  That is, the thin clouds were slowly moving Northeast.  I did not try to swim but I did circle the pool to see if anything needed rescue.  Nada.  On my way, I saw a white breasted nuthatch on a tree and heard a woodpecker.  

Blue jays stayed up in the oaks.  The female oriole foraged in the bushes so I only got glimpses.  The male oriole and a mockingbird ate dogwood berries.  The "red" aster was exactly the same magenta as the beautyberries.  Brown headed nuthatches joined titmice and chickadees, and an occasional cardinal, at the seed feeder.  The white breasted nuthatch also made a couple of forays.  A dove wandered around the yard. 

It didn't feel humid and there was a breeze, so why all the mosquitoes?  Big, daytime mosquitoes with white stripes bit me hard when I went over to the fig tree to check on the peppers.  I picked a ripe one and saw three more that were green.  The sunflowers were making seeds. On the way back, I saw a sundog. 

Rafting skink

The morning creek was in a reflective mood. The dog seemed to appreciate the cooler air - he wanted to stay outside longer.  Something caught his attention and he dashed over to the oak.  Since it was daytime, I figure it was a squirrel that rejuvenated him.  

I finally got a chance at the pool mid afternoon.  (Afternoons rush past this time of year.)  The first thing I saw was a skink navigating on a yellow leaf.  A cricket, riding a different leaf, may have lured the skink into the water.  By the time I nerved myself for immersion in the chilly water, the skink had disembarked onto the top of the ladder.  But when I got close it dived.  I caught it and put it on the escape stick to dry out.  It stayed put so eventually I encouraged it to climb and it scampered off.  

While dripping off, I emptied the recycled-plastic birdhouse and only snapped off one tab, which I think is fixable.  I was sitting in a small patch of sun by the mountain mint and I saw an insect I didn't recognize.  It appeared to have transparent wings, a bright green thorax, and a skinny up-curled abdomen.  It looked a little smaller than an eastern amberwing and my first thought was a damselfly, but I could not really guess what order of insect it was before it flew away.  And the camera needed a fresh battery, so I don't have an image to search.  Later, during an early supper, a great egret fished along the bulkhead.  

Cold water

An outrageous squirrel sat right outside, on our furniture, eating a pecan off our tree, leaving pieces of hull and shell all over. Shameless!  The camera betrayed me when I tried to get pictures of a brown headed nuthatch.

When I went outside with the dog, I saw a blue dasher perched on a dried gladiolus stalk.  Between the gusty wind and the low humidity, it wasn't very welcoming weather for dragonflies.  A dark butterfly flitted around, probably a black swallowtail. 

I was tired of the mess Fiona left behind and I stayed in the pool till I got all the leaves out.  One leaf was a bullfrog.  Other than that, all I found were a few small wasps.  An egret flew upstream.  I found twigs with hackberries attached amongst the soggy leaves.  The red aster was beginning to get the hang of blooming and the sunflower decided to try again.  

Too busy

No swim and hardly any outdoor time.  If the dog had not insisted, I might not have gone outside at all.  And it was a beautiful day.  I took a picture of the fungus, the money plant seedpods, and dogwood berries. 

Chilly water

A cardinal started nibbling on beautyberries.  His slightly orange crimson was not harmoneous with the fuchsia berries.  I noticed that the dog apparently cannot roll over on his back. 

I tackled the mess in the pool though the water temperature had dropped considerably.  It was mostly vegetation but I saved a few wasps, crickets, beetles, and a honeybee.  A little frog that was hiding under the leaves in the skimmer hopped frantically away, bumping into things.  A red spotted purple fluttered over the water.  I got so cold after the pool was in shade that I gave up. 

Afterward, as I dripped and tried to warm up in the sun, a hummer flew right up to me and glared from about six inches away.  It had a few red feathers on its throat.  I concluded that the sugar water must have gone bad.  I wondered if the hummer had just arrived, helped along by Fiona's winds.