Amazing sight

This was not in the back yard, but worth telling anyway.  Last Thursday night (25 July), on a small country lane in County Tipperary, there appeared in the headlights a kitten in stalking posture and a rabbit frozen in its gaze.  It was far too dark for a photo and it happened too fast, but I saw it!

Bats swooped out of the first house where we stayed in Ireland.  There were plenty of bugs in the air for them.  I also saw gulls, sparrows, starlings, a bullfinch, pied wagtails, song thrushes, rooks, swallows & swifts, wood pigeons, and some kind of raptor in the daylight. This is the wagtail - it had a distinctive white face.

For Irish wildflowers I used this site. Mostly it was purple loosestrife along the roads, beautiful there, though invasive here. 

The usual

House finches, then cardinals, and finally chickadees and squirrels showed up.  A hummer has visited a couple of times as well.  Too bad I'll be taking the feeders in shortly. The house wrens continue to sing and nest,  I took this photo yesterday. 

Blue sky with cotton shreds

But clouds are massing on the Southern horizon.  A black swallowtail flitted from rue to parsley.  The wren has learned to fly directly through the hole into its house.  Dragonflies and wasps are buzzing everywhere.  Titmice were on the feeder early.  Finches followed. 

A cicada landed on the trunk of the new maple but the camera refused to believe I wanted to focus there.  A hummingbird flitted everywhere but the feeder. A black saddlebags zoomed against the blue sky.  Skimmers and pondhawks perched.  Skinks scurried in the heat. 

Brooks came and removed the dead limbs from the oak as well as the fallen sweet gum limb.  I rescued a tiny tortoise beetle from the pool - it looks like it has a transparent dome over it.  Just as I reached for the camera, it flew away.  An egret preened on the dock, using toes as well as beak, and fluffing out its wings - I saw dust fly.  The house wren sang and sang and posed very nicely on its house perch.  Later when I came in, a Carolina wren came to the feeder. 

Humid

I squeegeed the windows twice before the temperature rose past the dew point.  House finches were busy on the feeder, as was a Carolina wren.  The sun is shining but the sky is white. A rumpled brown thrasher preened on the fence as I went to pick blueberries,

Dragonflies were all around the berry bushes.  Over the course of the day, I saw skimmers, pondhawks, saddlebags, twelve spots, and an amberwing.  A palamedes swallowtail flitted leisurely between trees and bushes. 

Titmice came to the feeder whenever they thought I was otherwise occupied.  Egrets and two little green herons and two osprey flew over.  Goldfinches found something in the top of the oak tree. Sunset was quite colorful and the moon is approaching first quarter.

Thunderstorms and sun

It was sunny at first, but around 9am a thunderstorm came up out of the South.  I was caught with the feeder not yet refilled.  The blueberries were too wet to pick even before the rain.  Cardinals and chickadees have been checking on the feeder.  The wrens continue to bustle around the birdhouse.  And the sky rumbles.

It turns out K had already filled the feeder.  I didn't realize since there wasn't much activity.  At 10am the sun is back but I don't trust it.  I was checking the Cornell site and it confirms the towhee is a ground nester.  I suspect the foxes disturbed the nest and that's why I haven't seen the towhees for several weeks.

I scattered some seeds when I thought the feeder was empty and the rain might last all day.  One squirrel has become very possessive of this treasure trove and would not let another partake.  Notice they've flattened their ears just like dogs.

A female house finch has settled in on the feeder.  Butterflies, bees, and dragonflies are taking advantage of the sun. Menacing clouds keep sweeping North, alternating with sun.  A squirrel did his best to dismantle the feeder. A mushroom popped up in the grass, though summer isn't really the season.  It's brown, probably a russula.

Afternoon, the sky cleared.  A hummer visited, as did a black swallowtail and lots of dragonflies. The pool was full of green June beetles, along with some Japanese beetles, and one green tiger beetle.  I've been seeing smaller gray tiger beetles since May but this was the first green one.  Across the creek a yellow-crowned night heron prowled the bulkhead as evening came on. 

Still raining

I hope it will plump up the blueberries.  It was just drizzling and the finches, titmice, and chickadees were swarming the feeder.  But right about 8am the rain picked up and they all left.  I saw the house wren busy over in the dogwood.

The rain comes and goes but never quite stops.  Even a glimmer of sun around 10am didn't stop the drops from plopping into the birdbath.  But when it slacks off, the titmice come rushing to the feeder.  There are at least four of them. Chickadees and a cardinal are competing for a place at the trough.  A leaf-legged bug is climbing the glass for some reason known only to it. 

After lunch, it began to dry out a bit.  I saw a skink and a tiger swallowtail.  Dragonflies appeared.  Wrens got busy.  A brown thrasher preened on a dead limb. 

Rain

Breakfasters included titmice, chickadees, finches and a Carolina wren. 

Dark clouds moved in around lunch and it has been raining ever since. I was eating at Panera and outside the window a laughing gull had taken possession of a hunk of bread.  A gull of a different species appeared and harangued the the black headed gull.  I couldn't hear, but the beak was going a mile a minute.  The a human walked past and interrupted them. 

It is still raining at dusk and I have no photos. 

Gray sky

The house wren is making frequent visits home and the Carolina wren visited the feeder.  Three titmice squabbled over the feeder, then four female finches did the same.  Chickadees sneaked in while they fussed.  A brown thrasher lounged under the dogwood where the birdhouse hangs.  A hummingbird buzzed all around the sakaki, then checked out the wilted gladiolas, and totally ignored the freshly filled feeder.

Something yellowish banged on the glass - it might have been a cicada killer or a clearwing moth.  Yesterday, I saw it behaving more like a cicada killer. Actually, the Carolina Sphinx Moth seems to be the best fit for the markings I glimpsed.

The sun is out, mid morning, but the sky is still gray.   A skink came out from under the rosemary and hurried across the patio. I've seen a cabbage butterfly, a black and a tiger swallowtail. A huge May beetle settled on the wall by the porch light. A red-bellied woodpecker investigated the oak.  Then it flopped down on a branch with wings outspread. A robin visited.  For all their commonness, I don't see them that often.  An osprey circled. 

Dragonfly warz

It is not so cloudy as yesterday.  Titmice, finches and chickadees have been feeding, along with squirrels.  The house wren is bustling about.

The cloud cover comes and goes.   We are having dragonfly dogfights over the perches.  A widow skimmer, a slaty skimmer, and a pondhawk are battling over who gets the top spot.

A bird landed in the tiptop of the redwood - I think it was a great crested flycatcher. A hummingbird came to where the feeder is supposed to be, only I had it inside for a cleaning.

In the late afternoon, a big branch came crashing out of the sweet gum.  Sunset colors were lovely, but the trees obscured much of it.  I peeked out several times to see if the raccoon was back.  The last time, around 10pm, it was peeking in at me. 

Overcast

The clouds have been growing thicker all morning.  Titmice and chickadees visited earlier, as did squirrels.  Something cleaned up the carrots and popcorn that spilled last evening.  I have not seen a single skink since the day the fox cub caught something.  Dragonflies are still everywhere.  Japanese beetles seem to be more plentiful than in past years.  Annual cicadas are singing - apparently we don't get the periodic variety here.

The dark clouds passed with only a light drizzle.  A hummer came to the feeder but didn't feed.  I need to change the juice again.  I finally saw a skink on the lower level.   Here's a flower spike on the chaste tree. 

The evening sky got dramatic with clouds and sun rays, but I was driving and couldn't capture it.  Fall webworms are at work on the pecan tree. 

More sun

Cumulus puffs are rolling East.  Titmice joined chickadees and finches at the feeder.  The squirrel with the white spot foraged along with a youngster who tested the feeder latch.  Dragonflies are out early. I saw what I think were blue dashers of both sexes.  They are guarding the blueberries, along with spiders.  That's probably how we got bit the other day. 

The house wren is singing and another answers from the next yard.  The Carolina wren visited the feeder.  A hummingbird came twice but I didn't see it actually feed.  A female widow skimmers has made black and gold flashes while a golden winged skimmer was a streak of orange.  A black swallowtail hung around briefly. 

Despite the heat it has been pleasant with a breeze and lower humidity.  A woodpecker flitted between our oak and the neighbor's pine.  It was robin-size and I saw no red so I think it was a hairy.   The swifts were flying high and calling higher.  A twelve-spotted skimmer darted around making me waste pictures of blue sky. 

There are little black bees on the lavender smaller than honeybees.  A little green heron rested on a piling.  And the geese tried to visit again. 

Sunny

Cardinals and finches are busy at the feeder with squirrels beneath.  A great blue heron soared overhead.  The spider is still where I left it last night so I guess it is dead after its second rescue. 

Cabbage butterflies are all over and a tiger swallowtail and an orange butterfly passed through.   But there are even more dragonflies.  I believe I've seen blue dashers, eastern pondhawks, red saddlebags, and slaty skimmers.  Some like the perches I put out but others never stop flying. It is hot enough that those that perch are obelisking. 

 The Carolina wren came to the feeder while the house wren sang outside its nest.  An egret soared over us.  Dragonflies are everywhere.  A tiny brown damselfly landed on the concrete next to the pool.  At supper, a titmouse came for a snack.   More egrets flew over. 

After dark, I staked out the area under the feeder and took pictures of our little night raider.

First hibiscus flower

The humidity is less and only a little condensation was on the edge of the windows.  Titmice and chickadees competed on the feeder while squirrels scampered below.  Clouds are making the sun blink.  We ate our own blueberries for breakfast. Cardinals and finches have arrived.  Two male house finches rose in the air batting their wings at each other.  Red birds and red flowers against lush green.

It was a great day for arthropods: damselflies, widow skimmers, pondhawks, tiger swallowtails, little black bees, sawfly wasps drowning, a whirligig beetle that I think bit me, and an enormous spider I rescued from the depths.  I figured the spider was dead but it revived and crawled back to the pool and fell in again.  The beetle was fascinating - very round but able to popup into the air like a click beetle.

The wrens sang all over the yard and especially by the birdhouse. The chaste tree is blooming and there are pods on the Egyptian pea vine.  A large convoy of Canada geese went downstream.  The young ones are smaller but otherwise feathered like adults.  A little green heron, an osprey, and a great egret flew overhead.  Crows were making their courting rattle in the oak. Clouds made a colorful sunset. 

Around 11pm I heard metal screech and turned on the light.  Two young raccoons were looking for sunflower seeds.  One ran off but the other was very curious about me, standing up on the steps for a better view. 

Another sauna

I squeegeed the windows only to find that the feeder is empty.  Birds have come and left in disgust - titmice and the usuals.  The birdhouse wren is hard at work.  There are lots of clouds and some are dark, but they are soft, not hard-edged thunderheads. 

As the day progressed, the humidity dropped some so it was hot but comfortable.  We didn't get the feeder refilled till lunch and there hasn't been much business at the sunflower cafe.  We picked huge blueberries swollen with rain.  The beauty berry is beginning to bloom and there are two red buds on the hibiscus.  Something is eating the hibiscus leaves - I saw a little caterpillar but also Japanese beetles.  Lots of June beetles were in the pool, both the smaller brown and the larger green scarabs.  Also a variety of spiders.  A greenhead attacked me.  This has been a bumper year for millipedes.  I see inch long brown ones everywhere indoors and out.  I heard some cicada noise.  I did not get any exciting photos despite the beauty of the holiday. 

Drippy morning, muggy day

The sky was blue but quickly clouded over.  The windows are fogged with humidity.  Slugs or snails have left meandering tracks.  Two squirrels foraged under the feeder.  Titmice, chickadees, and finches fussed over the feeder at breakfast.  Then they all disappeared.  The house wren is busy with its nest in the birdhouse.

A light rain fell in the late morning but now I see some blue. The chickadees and titmice rushed to the feeder.  A dragonfly perched on the top of the pine.  And then rain began again.  The blueberries are beginning to ripen.

The humidity is so high that the windows began to fog up again before supper.  

Home

A deluge followed the plane's arrival.  It lasted all the way back from the airport.  At home a cardinal and a finch tipped the feeder perch.  A wren edged in.  Then geese tried to visit.  Everything seems very green after the big city,