Halloween

Yesterday and today had lovely dawn clouds.  However, yesterday that was the last I saw of the outdoors till after dark.  Today I got home in the afternoon.  K rehung the seed feeder - it really looks like the sunflower cafe now!  But I didn't see any feeder birds yet.  I heard jays and a kingfisher, and Canada geese and mallards flew past.  An egret circled over the creek.

The fungus under the oak still looks fresh.  Raccoons left tracks on the pool cover.  The argiope entertained the trick-or-treaters.

Back home

The weather has been lovely for our trip.  I have about 250 photos, but I did not manage to capture the two dolphins I saw from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel this afternoon.  They were between Fisherman's Island and the Chesapeake Channel tunnel.  A sunflower greeted us at home and the argiope is still with us - she's made a fourth egg sac!

While on the road, I twice thought I saw a groundhog, but couldn't be sure.  I did see a hawk on a post this morning in New Jersey. 

Beautiful day

Puffy clouds sail across the blue sky and it is warm.  A Carolina wren joined chickadees on the feeder. The bees are happy. 

It was cloudy early and now it has clouded up again as evening approaches.  Gulls are playing on the wind. 

Sunshine!

 The day dawned gloomy and I feared the worst, but the overcast broke up and we have intermittent sun.  Insects are rejoicing - bees, wasps, and butterflies.  A brown headed nuthatch joined chickadees on the feeder till the cardinals moved in.  A song sparrow also sneaked aboard.  A mockingbird checked out the camellia and the beautyberry.  Egrets are busy along the creek.

I took down the birdhouse and it fell apart.  The nest was lined with feathers that never came off a wren. 

The song sparrow was back at lunch along with chickadees and cardinals.  

Rainy mist, again

And the prediction was for partly cloudy.  Phooey.  It's not really wet, but very dull. 

A tufted titmouse and a Carolina wren joined the regulars for lunch.  Blue jays and mockingbirds quarreled in the beauty berry, then two mockingbirds got into a tiff round and round the redwood.

The squirrel that had the warble doesn't any more.  Its shoulder is raggedy but healing.

A weird fungus has appeared under the oak.  It doesn't look exactly like last year's weeping conk, but it might be one.  

A brown headed nuthatch returned late this afternoon!  I last saw one in early September.  The argiope continues to guard the front door - I hope it's still here for Halloween. A waxing moon peeked briefly through the cloud cover. 

Last windy overcast, I hope

The Carolina wren was up early and flitting around the patio.  It landed on the brick wall for a moment.  A cardinal came to the feeder.  Morning glories keep blooming, as does the pea vine.  This weather arrived last Monday and has hung around for a full week. Bumblebees ventured out despite the wind. 

The sky was not as dark this morning and bits of blue began to appear in the North around noon.  By 2pm the sun was shining, but the wind was fierce out of the Northeast.  Down near the ground the wind blows every which way, but the clouds are moving steadily to the Southwest.  A small skink ran across the steps.  Crows, gulls and cormorants wrestled with the wind over the creek.   The regulars visited the feeder.  A mockingbird snacked in the beauty berry.

Two song sparrows visited the birdbath.  One bathed but something startled them before the other began.  They froze, then scooted under cover. I glimpsed a woodpecker flying upstream - red followed by black & white.  I think it was a red bellied but it might have been a pileated.  I heard a kingfisher as saw some distant egrets. 

Wind is back

It is still warm and wet but the wind makes it dank.  There was fog at first but it condensed into wet mist.  Cardinals and chickadees came for breakfast. 

The song sparrow shared the feeder with chickadees, mid afternoon.  The wind drove the tide over the dock again.  Cormorants and crows fought the wind aloft.  The chaste tree has been fooled by the warmth into a tentative blooming.  Water is caught in sheet webs looking like handkerchiefs. 

Dripping

The mist was almost thick as fog earlier.  Everything is dripping.  Cardinals and chickadees have been to the feeder. Bees have discovered the camellias.

By late afternoon, it was somewhat drier and I sat outside while chickadees and cardinals fed.  A small flock - at least 4 - of catbirds flew around the dogwoods, then decided they needed a bath.  I think a mockingbird joined them briefly.  Three herons passed overhead and a male kingfisher announced he was using the dock. 

Mist

The air is blurry with water and all is wet.  The fine rain collects and drips.  Or the breeze shakes the leaves.  But It is not windy like the past couple of days.  Cardinals visited the feeder and squirrels are running around.

At lunch, several egrets were busy around the dock.  A wren scolded from the saltbush.  The song sparrow scurried around the patio and popped up onto the feeder.  And the regulars came to the feeder too. 

More grayness

It's warmer and less windy, but still wet and gray.  Cardinals and chickadees visited the feeder.  A song sparrow scurried below.  A catbird poked at the grass then flew into the bushes.  An egret flew upstream.

There was a downpour around 1pm.  When that was over I went outside to check on the creek - even higher than yesterday.  The tops of the boat-mooring posts are barely visible in the photo. 

Two kingfishers were swooping and scolding.  Something up in the oak tree made a ratchety cry.   A couple of Carolina wrens ran up and down the dogwood trunk.  Blue jays, mockingbirds and flickers are still hanging out in the bushes.  The song sparrow, having remained dry through the Northeaster, decided it was time for a bath.  A V-formation of geese headed East. A few bumblebees struggled with the wet rosemary. 

Rain and wind

It looks like this weather will last a while.  A pair of cardinals sheltered on the feeder perch, even though their combined weight closed the food trough.  The feeder has an overhang to keep the rain off.  Chickadees also came out for breakfast.  It is gloomy and the glass is streaky with rain.  So I checked on the front porch menagerie.  The argiope is busy spinning but the wasps are just hunkered down around their paper comb. 

It fluctuates between steady rain and heavy, wind-lashed downpour with visible gusts blowing up the creek.  Said creek is over the bulkhead and there are waves in the grass. 

During one of the lulls of just rain, blue jays and flickers rushed around the grass pecking.  I presume they were after worms and grubs flushed to the surface, though I suppose they might have been after acorns.  The usual suspects keep visiting the feeder whenever the wind slackens. The song sparrow made a brief foray to the pea vine but rain-streaked glass ruined the photos. 

The tide's been over the banks for four hours. 

Windy and gray

The wind dried off the overnight rain.  Lots of chickadees are hungry this morning.  A Carolina wren checked out the underside of the grill while a cardinal prowled through the pea vine. The saltbush or groundsel is a mass of white tufts. 

The weather reports warn of coastal flooding so I checked and the water has risen to the top of the doc with a couple of hours to go before high tide.  Between the chill and the wind, most of the bees stayed home.  One clings unmoving to a lavender blossom.

At least one squirrel definitely has warbles.  Cardinals and finches came for lunch.  One cardinal is beginning to tip the counterweight.  It pushed finches and chickadees off the feeder perch but that wasn't enough to reopen the trough.

Rain at last

Early sun is leaking under the clouds which just makes them look darker.  It's wet and very humid and supposed to rain again in the afternoon.  But, for now, the sky is clearing and the overnight rain wasn't enough to spread wetness under objects. This is my first telephone photo.

Before lunch, cumulus clouds raced North.  It was windy on the ground too.  A sulphur and a black swallowtail flitted about, and all sorts of bees worked on the rosemary.  A cardinal and a mockingbird tussled over the berry bushes. 

After lunch, heavy clouds moved in from the SW.  A blue jay called from atop the sweet gum.  The sassafras has suddenly turned for fall.  

A heavy rain set in later in the afternoon. 

Farewell swiming

The pool is covered - no more beetles rafting on leaves or spiders walking on water.  Birds have not been much in evidence, possibly because of the pool guy.  I did see the squirrel with the white spot.  She's getting a bit long in the tooth and has a sore on her left shoulder.  It has been very dry but supposedly rain is coming in a few days.

It's quite warm, but there's a breeze.  Afternoon cumulus built up, then blew off East.  Something pale green flew by and resolved into a katydid when it landed.  Cicadas are still buzzing.  Jays are calling too.  Mallards paddled past and crows and cormorants flew busily hither and yon. The pink camellia is bursting into bloom. 

When it's this warm, it's hard to remember that the equinox is well past, so I get surprised by how early sunset comes.  And we are just past the dark of the moon too. 

Hot and bright

Cardinals and chickadees for breakfast.  A palamedes swallowtail visited a morning glory. Beetles and crickets were swimming and rafting.

The pink camellia outside the kitchen window has begun to bloom on the top branches. 

A Carolina wren paid a late afternoon visit to the grill. The day was mostly cloud-free. 

Mockingbird continued

A rim of clouds blushed pink just above the pines across the creek, but now they are creeping South towards us.  A titmouse, a wren and a sparrow joined the cardinals, chickadees and finches. The birds seem to enjoy the pea vine - I can see it move with their weight as they hop around out of sight.  A squirrel was up early.

The clouds did not hang around.  A mockingbird followed a cardinal, imitating it but at a lower pitch.  The mockingbird apparently needed a drink after that performance.  Then blue jays swarmed into the berry bushes - dogwood and beautyberry. 

Berries

A sparrow had a morning shower while chickadees and cardinals ate overhead.  Later a mockingbird came to eat beauty berries.  It is warm and sunny with a light SE breeze and some high haze.

A blue tailed skink crossed the steps and then the patio, moving a bit slower than they do on hotter days.  Despite the prediction, clouds moved in and the afternoon was cooler than I'd hoped.  The water is down to 70.  Spiders were rafting and a cricket attempted to climb me.

Another katydid perched on the pea vine.  A yellow-green spider was working on its threads and suddenly disappeared - I suspect the katydid.

I stepped outside at just the right moment to catch a spectacular sunset!

Clear sky

A finch and a flock of chickadees came for breakfast in the bright sun. A cardinal got up late. The pea vine has more blossoms.  It's beginning to look like Jack's beanstalk. 

It has been a beautiful day, and I saw far too little of it.  The setting sun made the west glow gold, though there were no clouds on the horizon, just a feathery streak high above.  The sun itself went red at the horizon.  

Early autumn

Overnight there was a heavy dew.  It brought out the smell of the rosemary where some bumblebees were already at work.  Two sparrows arrived at the feeder first.  Then, as the sun began to make the background glow, chickadees and a few titmice came to feed.  A couple of geese broke the reflections on the creek. The concrete is cold to bare feet.  Later a titmouse arrived. 

In the afternoon, a sparrow and a dove each had a visit to the spa (birdbath).  A Carolina wren investigated the basket where we dump the pool skimmer.  While yardwork was going on, I saw the first monarch butterfly in a long time.  I also saw a palamedes swallowtail and something pale and thumb-size that I'm guessing was a cicada.

K noticed a cooper's hawk perched on the fence.  Then it walked along behind the azalea bush.  There was a flurry of activity and a bird shot out of the other side of the bush.  I got closer and suddenly the hawk reappeared, saw me and flew across the creek, where it ran into the gang of crows.