Time outside

Morning was cloudy.  I spotted a morning glory flower.  A brown thrasher was an early visitor.  A female cardinal was beginning to lose head feathers and a male fledgling was getting orange, but with a black beak.  A female goldfinch was thirsty.  The molt-ragged Carolina wren had a barkbutter ball.  

Carrying the can of bug killer, I went swimming earlier than usual and found three frogs.  I evicted them but after I got out, they hopped back into the water.  A big, all-black bee was swimming frantically and I assisted it onto dry concrete.  Wind gusts tossed leaves into the water.   I put some peanut bits on the patio for the crow but a squirrel ate them.  The crow may have given up on us.  

After lunch, I went back outside.  There was more sun but a breeze and the shade made the heat endurable.  A blue dasher stood guard.  I saw two other dragonflies, one dark and the other yellowish, but I didn't get pictures to ID.   A hummer had a long feed before she saw something that sent her away.  Sometime later I spotted her preening on a dead twig in the dogwood.

A well-grown skink crossed the steps and later rain under my chair.  Its tail was not original but was full length.  A few wasps and bees and a duskywing skipper fed on the mountain mint.  A big dark butterfly never alighted and I couldn't guess if it was a red spotted purple or some kind of swallowtail.  A skipper with some orange joined the mountain mint crew.  

Butterflies

On the 14th, I had meetings and didn't go out to swim till 5pm.  There were the usual couple of frogs.  I rescued a black wasp that had been carrying a legless spider when they landed in the water.  I figured the spider was doomed.  That was it until I got out.  Then a green head fly went for me.  I hadn't bothered with bug deterrent because I thought we were past their season.  It hit my arms, thigh, and legs as i rushed to the house and the can of bug killer.  I sprayed everywhere but I have no idea if I hit the wretched fly.  I know I sprayed me and had to wash the stuff off.  I was too upset to post yesterday and had no pictures anyway, .  

Thus I was very cautious the following morning, but I didn't see any sign of the fly.  It had rained overnight and dropped the temperature somewhat.  I evicted the two frogs again.  A good sized spider was on the railing but I wasn't sure if it was alive.  Afterward as I dripped, I saw a cloudless sulphur visiting the milkweed, a red spotted purple resting on a dogwood, and a tiger swallowtail flying among the trees.  Only the purple cooperated.  

A downy woodpecker visited the seed feeder for lack of anything better.  So did a Carolina wren.  The sky looked like more rain but none fell.  We went to a fundraiser in the evening and I noticed the tree crickets were loud both there and when we got home.  

Siesta time

Can a frog look sheepish?  When I took the lid off the skimmer, two frogs were crammed together in a corner, blinking at me.  One hopped away but the other dodged around to dive into the water.  I caught them both several times before they took the hint.  Aside from that, I fished out dead June beetles and a drowned woodlouse hunter spider.  

After lunch I spent some time outside.  Despite being 90°, it was pleasant in the shade with a breeze.  The sky was cloudless but hazy.  I saw a few skinks, a hummer, a blue dasher obelisking, and a tiger swallowtail.  A Guinea paper wasp prowled through the mountain mint.  An osprey flew up the creek and a hawk flew across the yard.  

After the hawk was gone, a couple of mourning doves flew down into the shade of the sakaki. A male cardinal tried to discourage his son from following and begging.   A small black bee landed on the concrete at the edge of the house shadow and appeared to do a honeybee dance.  I didn't watch it continuously but I think it staggered into the sunlight, keeled over and died.  I came inside not long after.  

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.