Still blowing

 Yesterday I was away almost all day.  Today the downy was back for more seeds.  

 

High winds

The wind tore apart the overcast and dried off surfaces.  It grounded most birds - all I saw were cardinals.  A squirrel was thirsty.  The day stayed chilly despite some sunshine.  

Rain and wind

The temperature slumped about 30 degrees between one afternoon and the next.  The chill, accompanied by strong North wind gusts and a good soaking, was no inducement to venture outside.  A downy woodpecker was hungry for seeds.  A great blue heron blew downstream.

 

Dragonfly

A Southwest wind made the temperature unseasonably warm but not record-breaking.  After lunch I spent time outside.  The pine cone humidity gauges indicated that the heat was not sticky.  The gull flock passed but didn't linger.  I heard some songbirds and caught some unidentified glimpses.  A blue dasher occupied a bamboo stake for a while.  Something small rooted around under the leaf litter beside the birdbath but never showed itself.  Mint moths flitted among the herbs.  But overall, the day was not very productive of photos.  After sunset I took some pictures of the crescent moon.  

 

Record heat

Yesterday was very hot.  It broke the record by 4°.  We spent most of the day on a trip to Yorktown where I was giving a presentation.  On the way I saw a half dozen pelicans in the water near Willoughby Spit.  Coming home, I saw a couple of gulls.  The bridge-tunnel work may have discouraged birds or perhaps it was the heat wave.  This morning was cloudy and gusty.  Dry leaves blew across the yard.  It was in the 70s and humid.  All I saw was a squirrel making off with a nut.  

 

A summer day

By mid day the temperature reached 80°.  A squirrel splooted on the cool concrete in the shade.  The poor thing was limping and looked very chewed up.  K poured water in the birdbath and I left a few peanuts nearby.  But I don't know if the squirrel returned.  

A dozen gulls played with the Southwest wind high in the air under a blue sky.  A small red spotted purple landed in the sakaki.  I also saw a cabbage white.  The oak had patches of leaves that had caramelized.

A mockingbird found the beautyberries.  I heard other birds and saw some zip across the yard too fast to identify.  A wasp and a bee were busy.  Tiny spiders webbed twigs.  The Berkley's polypore appeared smaller and kind of moldy.  

Windy

The wind dried off the rain residue and eventually cleared the clouds away by late afternoon.  However it seemed to have grounded the birds and insects.  At lease, I saw nothing except some distant soaring birds.