Bright sunshine

A bluebird appeared before lunch.  I hadn't seen any for a while.  He had some trouble with the perch rolling over.  A Carolina wren persisted despite a cranky cardinal.  Something landed on the hummer feeder but it wasn't a hummingbird.  Maybe that wren?  The crow had its beak open but it was sitting in the sun.  I saw a tiger swallowtail, a smaller yellow butterfly, and a little pale butterfly.  None of them posed.  The coral honeysuckle continued to flower as a backup for the feeder.  I went swimming and pool cleaning but only found one scarab beetle.  

 

Pairs

I didn't even try to get wet today.  The temperature barely rose into the 70s and the wind was harsh.  A Carolina wren made several visits.  The wind blew up its skirts like Marilyn Monroe.  A squirrel sat on the feeder keeping the birds away.  Then it ate more "hot pepper" suet.  Later a downy had some suet too.  

The mockingbird pair came for barkbutter balls.  The cardinals courted.  An osprey plunged into the creek but I couldn't tell if it caught anything.   

 

Chilly water

The brown thrasher pair nibbled at the barkbutter balls K put out for the crow.  The crow did get some to.  Mockingbirds and blue jays preferred to eat from the hanging dishes but the mockingbird also ate some on the ground.  When the food on the ground was gone a brown thrasher protested.  When I got in the water, the sky had become clouded and the wind had grown stronger.  I rescued an assassin bug, a crane fly, a robber fly, a scarab beetle, a spider, and something that looked like a sawfly.  None of them hung around for a portrait.  

 

Monarch

Today was sunny and beautiful, cooler but not as windy.  A monarch discovered the patch of butterfly milkweed and fed off-and-on for half an hour.  When a Carolina wren landed on the nearby barkbutter dish, the butterfly seemed to be harassing the bird, flying toward it as though trying to drive it away.  Later, blue jays and a mockingbird visited the dish but I did not see the butterfly.  

I went for a late swim and saw a damselfly.  I fished out a spider, a ground beetle, a ladybug, a snail, and an earwig.  The spider and the beetle ran off but I'm not sure the others were alive.  Even though it wasn't windy, the air felt cold on my wet skin so I didn't linger to take pictures.  

Windy

After a long, long meeting I finally made it into the water.  The sun was hot in a deep blue sky and the water temperature was pleasant, but when I got out, the wind made an icicle of me.  The wind also filled the water with tree detritus and a few insects.  I rescued a small wasp and a brownish scarab beetle. Several tiny black spiders climbed around above the skimmer hole.  They were very shiny which made me think of black widows so I washed them out of my way.  Years ago, a black widow took up residence in one of the pool expansion joints.    The crow looked for treats and jays actually got them from the hanging dishes.  Two female cardinals had an altercation.  I saw a small butterfly that might have been a snout.  Something evil bit me in the armpit!

Zebra swallowtail

Another beautiful day of which I missed too much.  I had to rush off early to an appointment but afterward I went to Wild Birds Unlimited since I was in the vicinity.  I played with Merlin taking (bad) phone photos of goldfinches and a song sparrow while I waited for the store to open.  Back home, I admired the lilies in the front yard, white and dark red, also daylilies and a rainlily.  A skink descended the bedroom wall.  

At lunch, a gorgeous zebra swallowtail fed on the milkweed flowers.  The crow demanded treats.  A mockingbird was camera-shy.  A Carolina wren was perky.  Then I had online meetings.  

A white breasted nuthatches joined us for supper but was unwilling to share with a titmouse.   

Beautiful weather

Yesterday's rain was still evident.  A titmouse was up early.  At lunch, K put BBBalls on the patio for the crow.  A blue jay preferred to eat from the dish.  The temperature got up into the 80s with a breeze under a brilliantly blue sky.  The milkweed was a riot of flowers but I didn't see pollinators.  The cardinals were still courting.  

Again there were spiders to rescue including another crab spider.  Two damselflies perched in the shade by the water.  After I swam, I saw a skink.  A squirrel scampered past me just a couple of feet away.  I could see something flying over under the sakaki but I don't know what.  A azure butterfly flitted over the house.  Another blue jay visited.