Three frog day

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time clearing storm debris from the water.  The surface was covered with pine needles and more had sunk.  An oak branch complete with acorns was on the bottom.  I didn't see much wildlife, only one frog.  However, I did find floating a dragonfly nymph exoskeleton so I'm hopeful that the nymph I saw days ago completed metamorphosis. 

A Carolina wren wanted a barkbutter ball for breakfast.  It was still in the midst of a ragged molt.  The juvenile cardinal was back.  Today there were three frogs but little else in the water.  Despite clouds, the afternoon felt very hot.  I saw a monarch flit past the milkweed without stopping.  I suspect that indicates a male looking for love.  A goldfinch got a drink.  

 

Evening thunderstorm

The sun shone despite a lot of thin cloud cover.  A brown thrasher marched up the steps looking for something it did not find.  When I swam today, I did not see the dragonfly nymph.  I did evict three frogs and a skinklet, and rescued a black and yellow wasp.  Other than that, the morning was uneventful.  Clouds gathered as the day went on, but even the breeze was hot.  Then dark came early as heavy clouds blew in, dropped the temperature, and dumped buckets of rain.  Clearly, I pushed my luck too far with the figs. 

 

Thirsty

Another day in the 90s, but the wind shifted a couple of degrees North of due West.  Chickadees and titmice were thick at breakfast.  A downy joined them and a goldfinch arrived later for a drink.  A hummingbird showed up at lunchtime.  It sampled the milkweed as well as the sugar water.  Then a Carolina wren wanted a barkbutter ball, but not until I went indoors.  It was molting and looked rough.  It inspected the hummer feeder too.  I thought I saw a white breasted nuthatch but I never caught a picture to verify it.  A fledgling cardinal came to supper.  

I found another little monarch caterpillar eating milkweed flowers and got curious about whether insects are deterred by caterpillar toxicity.  This says, "Only about 5% of monarchs reach the last larval instar."  Three butterflies, a yellow, an orange, and a dark one, flitted over the yard but didn't give me a chance for a photo.  I think the yellow was a sulphur.  The orange seemed small for a monarch, so maybe a fritillary?  A fiery skipper made the rounds of the mountain mint.  So did the usual bees and wasps,  In the afternoon, dragonflies gathered.  A yellow one zoomed over me and disappeared, but a blue dasher and a widow skimmer used the perches.  

While I was in the water, I evicted two frogs and two spiders, and rescued a moth.  The dragonfly nymph was still active,.swimming very fast.  A thirsty squirrel dangled over the water to drink.  Either that, or it was having a Narcissus moment.  

Sweaty hot

The clouds looked thunderous but it was a false alarm.  I picked a couple dozen figs, fortunately in a strong breeze, but still sweaty work.  On my way past the canna I saw a slaty skimmer perched on a leaf.  My sandals got coated with rotten fig paste.  I hope ants will clean them for me.  Afterward, I chased two frogs around the pool.  Every time I caught one it would sneak back in.  The dragonfly nymph was back near where I saw it before, but it saw me and disappeared.  I also pulled two green June beetles out of the skimmer and rescued some crickets and May beetles that were swimming.

A widow skimmer perched on one of my garden stakes.  Then a worn slaty skimmer took its place.  Two hummers streaked across the sky, one pursuing the other.  The winner returned to guard the feeder.  A tiger swallowtail flew among the trees.  I caught glimpses of a dark butterfly, maybe a black swallowtail, maybe a red spotted purple.  A Carolina wren got a barkbutter ball for its evening snack.  

 

Scorching

As I drove to Chesapeake, I saw a cloud formation like a fingerprint in the sky.  When I arrived it was overhead and too big for a phone photo, and when I came back outside it had dissipated.  What with one thing and another, I didn't see much else till afternoon.  A Carolina wren poked around under the dish feeders.  The wind was still from the Southwest, but the clouds were moving much slower.  Down where I was, a breeze helped alleviate the heat.  A hummer perched on a stalk by its feeder, but flew off before I was focused.   I spotted a skink on the step wall just as the camera battery died.  

I waited till late in the afternoon to swim.  It wasn't buggy except for one mosquito that will never bite again.  A dragonfly nymph was clinging to the pool wall.  It got away from me, but I don't know what I would have done with it anyway.   There were two frogs in the skimmer that I released only to have them jump back into the pool.  I must have caught one three times.  I got pictures of one with a passenger - I wonder if it knew?  A different skink was floating in the water.  It was old enough to know better.  I laid it on the hot concrete to revive. It was still there when I finished my swim and I was afraid it had died, but it finally left when I wasn't looking.  

 

Bluebirds

A pair of bluebirds came for breakfast.  She tried to stuff her beak but kept dropping pieces.  I caught the crab and K kindly carried it down to the creek.  I also caught two frogs, repeatedly.  The Southwest wind sent lots of cumulus clouds past.  A fiery skipper joined the bees and wasps.  I fished a few beetles out of the water, but more mulch.  A bumblebee rescued itself.  

 

Crab

Fortunately, the sticky heat was frequently relieved by a breeze.  Lots of cumulus blew up from the Southwest.  The brown headed nuthatch was back  The dark spider posed like an orb weaver but what I could see of the web was just a tangle of threads with no pattern.  A couple of duskywings argued over the mountain mint.  I posed a drowned camel cricket.

I found no frogs in the pool today, but a mud crab instead.  It pinched my fingers and toes and got away into deep water.  Speaking of pinches, National Geographic introduced the Schmidt sting pain index.  A hummer made a brief visit to its feeder.  A male slaty skimmer used the smaller perch but spent much of the time hunting.  I saw a reddish dot in the sky and got a blurry shot of a Carolina saddleback dragonfly.  A titmouse saw something hair-raising.  Once again, a sprinkle made me take the camera inside.