Pine warbler

A pine warbler came to breakfast.  Then we had a brief shower.  

 

Hot

The air was hot and humid and not very breezy.  The hibiscus was still blooming.  As I stepped outside, a skink scooted off.  It had apparently been resting in the noonday shade of the house.  There wasn't much in the water - a few beetles, one little mama spider, and a greenhouse millipede riding a leaf.  I spotted another infant Argiope, this one still making a fingerprint web.  A widow skimmer perched but I didn't see any dragonflies on patrol.  I did glimpse some butterflies.  A crow and a Carolina wren came to eat, along with the regulars.  Scruffy titmice that I suspect were molting fledglings got into everything.  A mockingbird harvested cherries.  

Humid

While not especially hot, today was stuffy with humidity.  The hibiscus had another flower today, the third in a row.  Lots of cherries were on the ground and in the water, but I didn't see as many birds eating them.  I spotted a downy woodpecker doing chin-ups in the tree.  A catbird popped up on the fence.  Something that I think was the kingbird perched atop the redwood, briefly.  A hummer visited the feeder but didn't feed, so I will replace the sugar water tomorrow.  A Carolina wren was more satisfied with barkbutter balls and a brown headed nuthatch with seeds.  A crow hesitated, but finally ate K's peanuts.  A songbird chased a bigger bird into the trees too fast for me to react. 

I rescued three mama spiders and a very big scarab beetle, also smaller scarab and ground beetles.  The humidity brought dragonflies.  A female blue dasher used one of my perches.  A female great blue skimmer used another perch.  And prince baskettails zoomed overhead.  A tiger swallowtail and a small pale butterfly moved too fast for a picture.  I found a firefly under a gladiolus leaf.  A snail floated in the water but I suspect it was a land snail so I rescued it, maybe. 

Green Junebug

A crow joined the cherry eaters.  It landed almost on top of a mockingbird.  Chickadees and titmice liked the cherries too.   A brown headed nuthatch was only interested in seeds.  Something ate the sunflower petals then broke the stalk. 

While in the pool, I fished out a spider I thought had drowned, but it recovered as soon as it was in the air.  The usual beetles needed help but a green June beetle, Cotinus nitida, had rescued itself.  It was the first I'd seen this year.  Later a tiger swallowtail flitted through the trees.  A thread-waisted wasp enjoyed the mountain mint.  And underneath, I found an infant Argiope in its web. 

In the front yard, a rainlily bloomed.  Skippers fed on the lantana. And in an arc around where the oak used to be, white mushrooms the size of saucers spread their parasols.   The stalk had a ring but I didn't see a cup and I thought the gills bruised blue.  However, the best fit I could find online was Chlorophyllum molybdites which is poisonous.  By evening the sky was clear except for fiery clouds on the Western horizon.  

 

Hibiscus blossom

The crow perched on the railing and thought about the food in the hanging dishes.  I think this was early for the hibiscus to bloom, and the plant was quite small so far this year - only two stalks instead of a half dozen and not very tall.  I didn't see the flower until I was in the water.  The usual beetles were swimming along with things I don't rescue.  Something eating cherries dropped some in the water.  The mockingbird I saw cherry picking was careful.  A Carolina wren was only interested in barkbutter and mealworms.  A brown headed nuthatch wanted seeds.  A hummer disdained the sugarwater so I discarded it.  I glimpsed butterflies and prince baskettail dragonflies.  The milkweed had more buds.  The noon sky was full of wispy patterns.  A shower in the afternoon kept me inside. 

Cherry pickers

A pair of Carolina wrens showed up at breakfast.  Because of the weather forecast and the evil fly I swam in the morning.  There were a good many May beetles needing rescue and one very small mama spider.  I glimpsed a butterfly but, surprisingly, no Odonata.  A skipper found the first flowers on the mountain mint.  An egret stalked along the bullkhead.  The crow came looking for treats.  

In the afternoon, birds feasted on the wild cherry.  I saw mockingbirds, chickadees, cardinals, and some I wasn't sure about, maybe an Eastern kingbird?  A bluebird looked around before joining the cherry pickers.  The recent rains plumped up the cherries which had been wizened and tough in the drought.  The blueberries seemed to be waiting for more encouragement.  Scientific American reported that there is a structure in plant cells that reacts to the sound of falling rain.  DEQ had not lifted the drought warning despite the recent rain. It still only accumulated to 2/3 of the average for the first half of the year.  Today's rain arrived around 3pm.  

!@#$% fly

For various reasons I didn't swim till late in the day.  There was still a lot of tree trash in the water but also some interesting critters.  I rescued a bumblebee, a mama spider, a robber fly, and numerous scarabs.  The twig I propped on the ladder gave escape to a beetle and a spider.  I found an odd-looking insect on a floating leaf.  It appeared to be a small yellow-green fly but the hind legs were splayed like a frog.  It didn't move and its wings may have been stuck to the leaf.  But as I was looking at it, a tabanid fly came at me.  It chased me dripping all the way to the house and I left puddles inside.  I have no trouble understanding why Beelzebub is demon.  And that is why I got no pictures.