Goodbye, July

The sky is a hazy blue and warmer today.  Early birds included a hummer, titmice, a towhee, a male goldfinch, and the regulars.  The goldfinch has found the other sunflower that successfully made seed, but is hidden behind the morning glory vines.  I discovered another click beetle, this time on the stove.  The link said the larva are "wireworms" and I realized I've seen them and thought they were millipedes. 

While I was shucking corn for lunch, a male towhee landed on the feeder but I apparently made it too anxious to stay.  Then a dragonfly tried to land on the railing and slid off.  Hummers and goldfinches came during lunch.

Later in the afternoon, I saw the male goldfinch singing up in the oak.  Swifts swooped and chattered against a background of cumulus.  By 5pm, the sky was white and the sun glowed rather than shone.  The creek was busy with herons, both little green and yellow crowned.  One green buzzed another and later one perched in the top of the gum.  Kayakers startled an egret.  There were dragonflies zooming but none perched.  It was on the cool side and humid with only a light breeze to keep the bugs off. 

Still cool

The temperature at this end of July is like Fall.  Strange times.  It's bright and sunny and I suspect the cool weather won't last.  A male goldfinch visited the hummer feeder for a drink from the rainwater well that's supposed to keep bugs out of the hummer juice.  Then a hummer came.  It clucked softly on arrival which alerted me.  It looked rumpled and sooty.

At lunch, a slaty skimmer was using one of my perches.  Two hummers chased each other all over.  The male goldfinch came back and investigated the rotten sunflowers. The sky got quite cloudy.

Toward evening, a male towhee and a brown thrasher hunted for food.  The sky cleared.  I heard a woodpecker and a blue jay.  A dragonfly with spotted wings cruised over the yard. 

Cool

It was sunny with clouds and a breeze.  Although I was up early, I didn't get to observe the yard till late morning.  The regulars came to the feeder.  Then I saw robins and mockingbirds in the closest dogwood.  A great crested flycatcher visited first the rosemary, then the sakaki.

Small caterpillars have dangled from threads off the rotten sunflowers and today I took a closer look.  Yep, they are the culprits that explain why only two of a dozen flowers have set seed.  Sunflower moth caterpillars. 

At lunch, a female goldfinch visited one of the smaller sunflowers.  A Halloween pennant dragonfly landed on the stake holding up the sunflower stalk.  The sun came through its wings like stained glass.  At first, I thought it was a butterfly. 

Coming home tonight we saw a pumpkin-colored crescent moon descending in the West. 

Bright

Blue sky with clusters of soft-edge cumulus sped East, while the wind at ground level seemed to be blowing from the East.  The titmice and chickadees were breakfasting early.  A male goldfinch came and drank from the hummer feeder.  The first sunflower seed head is pretty well consumed.  There's another maturing amongst the morning glory vines.  But the big flowers seem to have produced nothing but brown rot.  I looked up sunflower pests and realized that I saw a sunflower beetle the other day - cream with rust stripes. 

A click beetle appeared on my beach towel.  Dragonflies were all over and even a damselfly scouted the patio.  The goldfinch returned to work on the sunflower.  A spider built a dome web in the lavender.  I rescued a full grown 5-lined skink from the pool skimmer.  It was not grateful.  The wind was definitely out of the West and still gusty in the afternoon.Threatening clouds piled up but came to nothing.  The wind continued to gust into the evening. 

Gray

Everything dripped.  The birds were late arising, but then the titmice swarmed with the chickadees.  Two male towhees investigated the mulch briefly. Around noon a female showed up. 

In the afternoon light rain fell intermittently.  A Carolina wren joined the chickadees and titmice at the feeder.  I picked blueberries but only found a handful.  There are still plenty to ripen, but once ripe they disappear.

The sun came out in the late afternoon and first a hummer, then a goldfinch came to the hummer feeder.  A brown thrasher lurked over by the oak. 

At the end of the day

I was gone most of the day.  Down in Chesapeake, I saw a couple of hummers chasing through the trees.  Back home, eventually the birds came out: besides the usual three (chickadees, house finches, and cardinals), a male goldfinch, a female towhee, titmice, blue jays, and a blue bird visited.  Also there were dragonflies.  An egret took up position on a piling. We cleaned and refreshed the hummer feeder. 

The Eastern sky was covered by a dark haze while the West had the usual summer afternoon cumulus.  I wonder what that portends for tomorrow's weather. Well, it didn't wait for tomorrow - the downpour began around 7pm.  It was like being under a waterfall, only with lightning flashes.

Squirrel antics

The morning glory vines have cloaked the lower half of the post that the feeders hang from, disconcerting the squirrels that used to climb it in futile forays at the seed feeder.  So today, an enterprising squirrel climbed the sunflower stake and leapt from that to the feeder.  It dangled upside down, then hauled itself aboard and pursued the fruitless effort to get into the feeder.  When it gave up, it jumped into the vines which did not bear its weight and tumbled through them.  Meanwhile the chickadees watched this performance and were unimpressed.  My camera was not at hand. A male goldfinch has also visited this morning.

A lovely spangled skimmer took up post on the lavender despite the strong breeze.  A robin hunted in the grass and I think a fledgling robin ate cherries.  A blue jay and a mockingbird certainly did.  An osprey landed up in the pine but didn't stay long.  The temperature is perfect with no humidity and a blue sky.

As I was sitting outside after lunch, harvesting my money plant pods, a fox cub came to visit!  Later I saw a blue dasher and a slaty skimmer.  The skimmer buzzed me as I swam. 

Humid, hot, and heavy

Early on, there were massed cumulus clouds on the Northern horizon, but that shifted to dark rain clouds by mid morning.  A painted lady, (the same one?), breakfasted on the sunflowers, then took refuge on the house wall under the overhang.  That's all the animal life so far.

The rain started just after 10 am and the temperature plunged. Around noon, the rain became intermittent and there were even brief periods of sun in the afternoon.  The goldfinch pair showed up during lunch as did an American (not painted) lady butterfly.  A Carolina wren visited later and then tufted titmice.  Dragonflies and skinks put in an appearance. 

Gray morning turned sunny and hot

A female towhee searched the mulch under the feeder while cardinals forsook it for the cherry tree. 

Sun began to leak under the clouds and the goldfinches arrived.  The male shared the feeder with a male cardinal - very colorful - while the female goldfinch worked on the sunflowers.  A black swallowtail flitted among the herbs. Later, a painted (or American?) lady enjoyed the lantana blossoms in the front yard.  A dragonfly worked from its perch in the back yard, but the sun washed out all details. 

In the late afternoon, when I had recovered from the heat and the day had cooled off, I went swimming.  I rescued a bumblebee (very carefully) and several June beetles.  I was splashing with abandon when I looked around and there was a fox cub, shocked at seeing me.  I said "Hi," but the cub hurried off downhill.  Meanwhile a cloud of titmice descended on the feeder, along with the regulars.  The male goldfinch stopped by the sunflowers for a last meal of the day.  Some dragonflies worked late - I saw a blue dasher and a four spotted pennant.  And tiny ants got all over the camera, I don't know why.  I hope I shook them all off.  The setting sun is turning the sky pink in lieu of clouds. 

More sun, less cloud

A male goldfinch was preening on the feeder hanger during breakfast. I went outside with my second cup of coffee  and promptly dropped the cup which broke.  My favorite!

After lunch, a skink wandered around the patio, waving its tail in a sinuous flowing motion.  A mockingbird flew into the cherry tree.  Both male and female goldfinch were hard at work on the sunflowers. 

Later, a variety of dragonflies appeared: a blue dasher, a four-spotted pennant, a slaty skimmer in the photo, and two widow skimmers.  I rescued a cream-colored spider from the pool.  It scuttled off too fast for me to get a good mental image. Piled-high cumulus are streaming out of the Southeast. 

Sunset dyed cloud bars pink and brought out swifts, in Norfolk. 

The bird feast goes on

Let's see, in the cherry tree I saw a mockingbird, cardinals, and I think a wren.  A great crested flycatcher perched in the pine.  Both male and female towhee rummaged in the mulch.  A hummer got very feisty and chased both birds and bees as it investigated all the flowers.  The male goldfinch returned.  And an adult fox passed through the yard headed West this time.

I saw a shadow in the pool early that made me think frog, but there's no sign of one now.  There was, however, a mama wolf spider with a load of babies.  I accidentally dislodged her from the polaris tail but she managed to walk on water back to it. 

In the late afternoon, under wet-looking clouds, titmice and chickadees all wanted the feeder.  They frustrated the female hummer with their comings and goings.  The male towhee was back at the mulch as was a brown thrasher.  And a squirrel was up in the cherry tree snacking.

The fox family antics were fascinating.  I think I was watching the parent teach a cub to hunt.  A whole lot of nose to the ground went on.  At one point the cub sat back and licked its muzzle and then the parent came over and put its nose in the cub's ear.  Whispered instructions?

At twilight, when I was bricking the feeder, yet another fox passed by.  It looked at me and then trotted off. 

Bird riot

It's a mostly cloudy day which seems to bring out the birds.  Two male goldfinches came to feast on the sunflowers, though the first arrival did not share with the second.  He contended with a bee and later with a hummingbird.  A mockingbird checked out the scene.  A female towhee poked through the mulch.  Titmice joined the regulars on the feeder. 

The adult foxes passed through around 9am.  A black swallowtail butterfly flitted past without any interest in the herbs - a male?  An adult skink paused briefly on a landscape timber.  Geese came up the hill but I sent them back down.  The goslings have grown up. 

A dragonfly took up a perch beside a rue plant where it seemed to find plenty to catch. It appears to be a juvenile female four-spotted pennant.  

In the afternoon, two hummers chased each other.  At least one wanted to try the sunflowers.  One has a sort of black chin strap while the other's throat is all white.  Titmice also chased each other.  A titmouse investigated the birdhouse.  Others ran riot over the feeder.  A wren hopped around the mulch as did the male towhee.  Almost everyone, including squirrels, went for the wild cherries.  I saw two mockingbirds in the tree. 

The grill inspecting Carolina wren showed up.  The wilted sunflower petals drip, apparently plain water.  The goldfinch left when I was outside but soon returned.  A dove landed on the railing then moved on.  I caught a glimpse of a hairy woodpecker in the cherry tree, also another, larger, unidentified bird with long russet tail feathers. I think the wild cherries are attracting birds that would otherwise be eating our blueberries. 

Overcast

The sky was a uniform gray, then it lumped into distinct clouds.  Nevertheless, there was intermittent sunshine.  A male towhee, and later a brown thrasher, checked out the mulch while the regulars hit the feeder.  The fox family passed by early, coming home from their nightly pursuits.An osprey landed in the pines across the creek.  Apparently the crows no longer care about this, evidence their fledglings have moved on.

Since no hummer has come by for a couple of days, we took down the feeder, cleaned and restocked it, and rehung it.  This time I used dishwater instead of bleach.  Anyway, a hummer appeared within the hour.  After feeding, it flew to a dead twig on the dogwood where the birdhouse hangs, and preened all through our lunch.

Still very nice

Titmice visited the feeder early.  Since then, it has just been the regulars.  There are small chocolate brown mushrooms in the grass. 

When I first came outside, I saw a gray back slink through the tall grass, followed by a bouncier fox.  All sorts of bees and wasps have been on the sunflowers and the mint, and occasionally the portulaca.  They ignore the hibiscus, the roses, and the gladiolus.  A black beetle, a spider, and more big ants were all I rescued from the water.  A juvenile night heron perched on a piling.  A couple of blue dashers perched and mating saddlebags flew by, as did a brown butterfly.  A leaf-legged bug marched along the patio till it came to the end of the shade.  A couple of skinks slipped across the patio. 

The tail-less cardinal  climbed the biggest sunflower stalk maybe a dozen times trying to get at the front of the flower.  He would lose his grip, land and start over, hopping upward, leaf-stem by leaf-stem, like a re-enactment of Jack and the Beanstalk.  We thought he was after seeds but he finally dislodged a green grasshopper or katydid.  The flurry of excitement startled a finch who banged into the window.  I didn't see if the cardinal caught his prey. 

In the mid afternoon I could hear lots of birds.  Chickadees came to the feeder while cardinals went to the cherry.  A brown thrasher hunted under the oak, as did a wren.  The thrasher also sat in one spot, fluffed out its feathers, and opened its beak - I think it was using ants to clean off parasites. Crows carried on in the treetops.  I glimpsed a tiger swallowtail high up in the trees. 

Sunshine!

The blueberries are plump and plentiful.  The feeder regulars have appeared, but no other birds as yet.  Bees are busy but other bugs haven't appeared. An osprey flapped upstream.

Dragonflies came out at lunch time.  A blue dasher perched but the others didn't even slow down.  I heard a bird I don't recognize go sort of teWit-te-witter-witter as it flew past at treetop height.  An egret also flew by.

A fishing spider scuttled across the water but when I came back with the camera, I could not locate it.  I did rescue this huge ant.  We have spittlebugs everywhere - mint, rosemary, and sunflowers.

The temperature was lovely all day and only a little humid, with a breeze.  Fluffy clouds turned a bit dark in the South, but nothing came of it.  At the Central Library I saw swallows in the air and a fairy ring in the lawn. 

Rainy day

The sky is dark and heavy with water but only a sprinkle has fallen so far.  The female goldfinch joined the feeder regulars after inspecting the sunflowers.

Rain fell intermittently around mid-day.  A female hummer ignored it but not another hummer who chased her off.  Blue jays joined lots of other birds in the wild cherry tree to eat the ripe berries. 

The male goldfinch appeared when the rain was really heavy.  The tailless cardinal and a hand-full of chickadees joined him. 

The rain slowly disappeared and by sunset there were fiery creases in the clouds which were suffused with peach.  I had to take photos at stoplights with my phone so who knows whether they will be any good. 

Meanwhile, at home K was taking photos of the fox family.  They played all around the pool.  And I missed it. 

Cold front coming

There was blue sky when I got up but it was gone by the end of breakfast.  A hummer appeared early, along with the regulars and a dove.  The sunflowers continue to attract bees but one has gone to seed. 

The sky cleared to a hazy blue.  A flock of chickadees and titmice fought for feeder time.  Skinks scampered.  A gorgeous, slender, metallic blue bee got in the house.  I rescued it but when I tried to get a photo in the sun, it flew.  No gratitude.  And then the clouds crept in from the West.  It's been breezy too.

The rain started about 3pm and at times was torrential with lightning and wind gusts. It finally let up around 6pm but light rain returned around 8pm. 

Busy birds

The regulars came and a house wren sang from the top of the hummer feeder hanger.  Fast moving dragonflies banged on the window. 

The female hummer made repeated visits. In the afternoon, a yellow crowned night heron stood around on the dock.  A female widow skimmer cruised low over the grass while a male blue dasher used the perch.  Cumulus clouds sailed out of the WSW but no thunderstorm materialized. 

Hummer warz have begun - I saw one chase another off the feeder.  But before that, a hummer plopped down on the feeder and it spun under her like a little merry-go-round.  A titmouse also came to the feeder and I saw both a male goldfinch and a bluejay streak through air above the yard.  A dragonfly zoomed back and forth till it was like I was watching a tennis match.  I never got a good look at it.  I did see a small robber fly on the concrete.  A fox cub visited the patio and was disappointed to find the birdbath dry. 

And hot again

The female goldfinch stopped in briefly.  The titmice arrived but were intimidated by a female house finch.  The tail-less cardinal continues to dominate the other male.  It should be another sunny day. 

At lunch, a hummer finally decided the feeder juice was good.  She also tasted the sunflowers and a pink portulaca blossom.  A wren hid under the morning glory vines.  Skinks ran across the patio.  A large, dark dragonfly battered against the glass. 

Sunny at last

It was so humid there was fog early in the morning and the windows had patches of condensation, but it was not hot.  A bumblebee overnighted in a sunflower and a katydid occupied another.  The brown thrashers were together at the nest, but one flew off when I came past.  The blueberries were fatter this morning.  Something stripped all the leaves off some branches, but I didn't see any caterpillars.

A lot of titmice got excited with both the feeder and the cherry tree till they didn't know which to settle on.  Two fledgling Carolina wrens came and sang, but moved off before I got the camera in position.  The regulars visited the feeder as well and a female towhee looked around in the mulch.  A dragonfly perched briefly on the lavender.

A skink came out at lunch and more dragonflies were active.  A black swallowtail put in a brief appearance.  An egret flew past.

The clouds were moving out of the SE in the morning but shifted to East by lunch.  Some looked thunderous.  In the late afternoon, a fox appeared under the oak.  I wonder why they seem to like that spot?   A green heron took off after I missed seeing it until then.  The brown thrashers were busy. A dove flew past.  The full moon was impressive. 

Hungry birds

A half dozen chickadees and several titmice all wanted at the feeder.  Cardinals and finches soon joined in.  A hummer ignored the freshly cleaned and filled feeder for the storm-battered lavender.  A Carolina wren explored the house crevices.  One brown thrasher sat on the nest while the other brought food.  And I could hear flapping as I picked blueberries. An idiot of a squirrel first climbed up to the feeder where the busy birds were too much for it, then tried to climb the sunflower stalk. 

At lunch time, I saw a fox cub with an itch.  A house wren hopped around the mulch.  Skinks hurried across the patio.  Then the female goldfinch returned to the feeder.  Later I noticed a brown thrasher dropping fecal balls near the pool's skimmer basket.  The brown thrasher also visited the wild cherries which are ripe and enticing many birds.  A female slaty skimmer used the dragonfly perch and a black swallowtail flitted through.  The mint blossoms attracted small scoliid wasps and a metallic green sweat bee. 

The rain held off all day though the sun looked watery through the cloud cover. But toward evening, the sky cleared to just tinted wisps of cloud.  And the fireflies appeared.  So did foxes - one ran across the yard, turned and went back, and then two raced back together.  Somewhat later, I saw one adult return. 

Dripping and pouring

The sky was gray and everything was wet.  I don't know when the rain stopped but the humidity was so high that no water had evaporated.  The regulars visited the feeder along with punk squirrels with wet fur.  Bees came to the sunflowers.  Here, a honeybee flew in to join two fat carpenter bees.  Why is this sunflower dark when the other is yellow in the center? 

K saw a fox on the lower patio but it didn't wait for me.  At lunch, a small skink rushed along the steps.  A brown thrasher sneaked into the camellia with food.  And then the heavens opened and stayed open.  Inches of water fell.  I hope the rain fattens the blueberries because otherwise it is wasting daylight savings.  Tomorrow is predicted to be the same. 

Toward evening the rain grew light and the hungry birds returned. We were lucky - out at the Oceanfront, there was considerable wind damage.

Early overcast, late thunderstorm

The sky was overcast, but it is breaking up.  We forgot to unblock the feeder and frustrated finches sat on the perch complaining.  Later, after the Sunflower Cafe was open for business, the female goldfinch returned. No one bothered her, so I guess her reputation has spread.

A fox appeared about 5pm and chased a squirrel briefly, then gave it up and dashed off.  A few minutes later, the predicted thunderstorm arrived with more rain than poor Arthur, also considerable wind gusts, lightning and thunder.  Trash cans went sailing in the flood. The temperature dropped over 20 degrees from the 90s down to 72°. 

Light rain and hungry birds in the evening.