Sticky

Morning was very humid and the windows were fogged.  The temperature soon rose enough to dry them.  A few finches and chickadees showed up along with a black swallowtail.  A buzzard circled. Finally on the last weekend of vacation we are blessed with Tidewater summer. 

In the late afternoon with the crescent moon overhead, an egret fished.  Blue jays made noise but I didn't see them.  The sun caught spider threads on a bush down by the creek.  A dragonfly perched on a higher twig, to far away to identify.  A very tiny ant wobbled all over the patio with a dead moth that was also tiny, but much larger than the ant.  As I got up to leave, a monarch or viceroy flitted past too quickly for me to turn on the camera or to guess which kind of butterfly it was. 

Cloudy off and on

Last evening's clouds built up through the night, moving out of the West.  In the early light, they were still distinct and sun tinted but they congealed into solid overcast.  A squirrel got interested in something in the water at the far side of the pool, but just as I was about to take a picture, another squirrel gave chase.  A few titmice visited along with finches and chickadees.  A hummer got into a confrontation with a finch.

Later in the morning the sky cleared to a hazy blue. There was a big spider in the skimmer.  A skinklet came out briefly.  The hummer came back and a black swallowtail visited the rue.

In the afternoon, a vulture and an osprey passed overhead. Two egrets fished below the dam.  Then a formation of cormorants flew over. By this time the sky was quite clear. 

Quiet morning, lively afternoon

The early clouds cleared but there was little activity.  A few finches and chickadees were joined by a titmouse at the feeder. Later, dragonflies came around, including blue dashers and a lovely emerald pondhawk.  A tiger swallowtail stayed high in the trees while a black swallowtail hovered in the herbs. 

After lunch, I went looking for something worth recording.  And I heard the first kingfisher of the post breeding season.  It landed on a dock piling but before I could turn on the camera or see which sex it was, it left.  After sharing the bench with a paper wasp, I went around the house and sat on the retaining wall in the shade.  A female pileated woodpecker landed in the pines.  Then a mockingbird flew out of the pines over to the dogwood.  And a blue jay flew back to where the woodpecker had been. 

A hummer stopped briefly at the feeder, then flew off either because I was too close or because there were too many candied ants.  I really regret letting the morning glory climb the post. 

I rescued some more spiders and some kind of Thysanura, not a silverfish though.  I find them in the water when we've had a dry spell.  A skipper visited the mint.  A great egret stood around on the dock.  A whole lot of buzzing and other sounds filled the air. 

A few clouds made a pretty sunset.  The crescent moon followed close behind.  Fireflies are still abundant.  The buzzes and whistles of the evening are different from the afternoon.

Fox play

While I haven't seen any birds at the feeders, an egret landed on the dock.  Two fox cubs wrestled all around the maple tree and then played hide-n-seek in the azalea. As the day warmed up, small skinks crossed the patio.

I think I finally identified the tiny aster-like flower in the yard as Carolina elephant's foot, Elephantopus carolinianus.  Meanwhile a mysterious pink-flowered plant is growing at the foot of the dock. The flowers are tiny, the wasp even tinier.  Update: it's swamp or saltmarsh fleabane.  The spartina is in flower - fall is coming.

A single crow chased a vulture upstream.  Later all the crows flew out of sight but I heard them screeching.  A blue-fronted dancer damselfly perched in the lee of the dock out of the wind which had grounded all dragonflies. A Black and Yellow Mud Dauber, Sceliphron caementarium, collected mud that a fiddler crab had mounded beside its burrow.  Smart! 

The regulars were coming to the feeder by lunch time. A male towhee poked around the mulch.  A male goldfinch worked on the sunflowers, not waiting for the seeds to ripen. I rescued a small brown frog that I think was a young green frog, Lithobatesclamitans. 

A lady butterfly, painted or American, flitted around the pool while I was swimming.  All three kinds of swallowtail were around - black, brown (palamedes), and yellow (tiger).  Blue jays flew back and forth over the yard.  A hawk glided silently through and all I saw was the back of its brown wings.  That's when the camera battery died on me.

Humid

Soft-edged clouds blend into blue but the overall effect was gray.  Nevertheless, there was some sunshine.  Only the house finches and chickadees visited at breakfast.  One finch had two wild feathers that looked like horns.

The sky cleared by noon.  I ran errands and had little chance to observe.  However, the cardinal is getting his tail back. But he's lost the end of his lower beak since Saturday.  The poor bird is falling apart! Or is that just a piece of seed? 

Beautiful day

I got up early for a meeting in Norfolk.  The sun was just tinting the clouds in the West, peach above and smoke below against a pale blue.  It would make a great abstract print.  On my return, there was a mass of cumulus to the South and East but just fluff in the North and West.  Eventually it all cleared off to that intense blue that seems to me to have a purple tinge.  I wonder if I'm seeing a bit of ultraviolet?

In the morning, the tide was high and a great egret prowled along the creek edge, up in the grass above the marsh.  It was windy all day and that's never good for birds or bugs.  Then I left for another meeting.

In the afternoon, I saw a hummer in the lavender and a black swallowtail around that and other herbs.  But I cannot see any caterpillars.  Lots of bees and wasps everywhere.  I rescued crickets and grasshoppers and spiders and what looked like a weevil.  The weeping conk has swelled, but not as big as the ones two years ago.  Crows quarreled and an osprey flew over.  A convoy of geese sailed downstream. 

K took down the birdhouse and I took some pictures of the wrens' nest inside.  Amazing how many twigs they stuffed in there.  I don't know if the feathers are accidental or on purpose. 

Breezy with sun and clouds

An egret landed on the dock at breakfast.  Bumblebees got an early start.

I was running errands when I saw a black vulture in the street.  It seemed young and small and it was working on a carcase of either a squirrel or a young rabbit.  Big clouds are moving West.

Windy

Cumulus hustled West in the early morning.  A dark cloud threatened rain but moved on.  By noon the sky was mostly blue.  A Carolina wren hopped around on the roof.  A tiny skinklet wriggled into the mulch.  Two fox cubs circled the pool and later one came up on the patio and sat down for a scratch.  A blue jay flew across my line of sight.  A black swallowtail investigated the herbs and some other butterflies appeared briefly, unless they were blowing leaves.

I saw another wren but this one didn't have the bold eye line of a Carolina - I think it may be a winter wren.  A slaty skimmer clung to one of my perches and a silver-spotted skipper landed on a morning glory tendril. A palamedes swallowtail flitted through.  Bumble and carpenter bees visited the lavender.  The wind blew a lot of leaves and pine needles down.  I rescued some spiders and crickets.  A buzzard and another bird circled high overhead.  A laughing gull flew downstream.  It has already lost its black head for gray eye shadow.   

Update: Everybody says it's a house wren, not a winter wren. 

Mostly gray

Cardinals and chickadees visited the feeder at breakfast.  A spider visited the kitchen. There were titmice at lunch.

Then I went to Town Point Park where there were amazing dragonflies and lots of gulls, mostly laughing gulls, I think, at least they had black heads.  There was way too much noise to hear them.  The clouds over the Elizabeth River were very dramatic while the dark rain bands were off East.  Around 4pm the clouds began to break up and the sun got quite hot.  The dragonflies disappeared except when the sun was covered. 

Back home, a dove explored the mulch.  I noticed that the tail-less cardinal seems to have new feathers growing.  Another mama spider was in the skimmer.  A katydid had drowned, I think, with its wings all spread out like a specimen.  Rain fell around 7pm, enough to wet everything but not enough to pool in the birdbath.  A great blue heron stood on the dock bench in the rain.

Road trip

I went to Williansburg today to a meeting.  Before I left, titmice and a Carolina wren visited the feeder.  On the way, I saw a pretty vine with white flowers that looked like four-point stars.  Also sumac was blooming.  Coming back, I saw a long-tailed hawk, probably a sharp-shin as it was quite small.  At Linda's, I saw a juvenile night heron in the creek.

At home, ten or more house finches congested the feeder.  Blue jays flew across the yard.  Cardinals and chickadees couldn't get a turn at the feeder.  Neither could a female goldfinch but a Carolina wren found an opening.  A hummer decided it was all too much and visited the lavender instead.  A male towhee foraged on the ground. 

Soft-edge clouds

The morning clouds blended imperceptibly into the blue sky.  As the day progressed, the sky first cleared more then went overcast.  About all I saw between meetings was dragonflies attracted to the shine of cars in parking lots.  The humidity and threat of rain brought out the biters. 

Sunny and cooler

I haven't seen any birds but the regulars.  Small butterflies and a black swallowtail were out.  A lovely green Eastern pondhawk was guarding the lantana.  It's breezy.  K refilled the feeder. 

In the afternoon a white breasted nuthatch visited the feeder.  I saw a brown thrasher and a mockingbird flying around. 

A widow skimmer lit on the perch I provided.  It's the only thing I was able to photograph.  Skippers continued to feed on the lantana even after it was in shade.  The white lumps down by the sidewalk where the oak used to be are definitely bracket fungi. The sunflower stalk has a bunch of new blooms, much smaller than the first set.  I hope the rotten bugs don't get them too.  I suspect their eggs were in with the feeder seed. 

I rescued a honeybee and K a small skink.  While I was swimming, I heard a little green heron grumbling.  It landed on the dock bench, then a piling.  The late sun lit it up but, of course, I did not have a camera. 

Wet and gray

A scruffy, molting Carolina wren joined the chickadees on the feeder at breakfast. 

Mist fell, but no real rain during the morning.  I saw dragonflies over the road as I drove back. 

At lunch, a white breasted nuthatch came to the feeder along with titmice.  Then a hummer appeared, different from the one I photographed yesterday.  A black swallowtail came through the yard. Since I cut off the rotten sunflowers the lower buds have swelled into smaller blooms.  They're the closest thing to sunshine today.  The clouds are very gray and look heavy and wet. 

Around 3pm the sky began to clear but it remained very humid.  A goldfinch started to visit but veered off.  A skinklet came out of the mulch. And by 5pm the dark clouds returned. 

When I was returning home around 9pm a fox darted across the street.  It was amazingly fast. 

Clouds, then rain

The scruffy, molting hummer was up early and a 12-spot skimmer dragonfly prowled after the afternoon rain. 

Not much sun

The morning sky was white, then pleated, then it began to clear slowly.  A hummer arrived early.  A cicada killer looked for a spot to start a nest.  The regular feeder birds showed up, but no others.

Later a great crested flycatcher put in an appearance. Skinks came out despite the clouds.  Dragonflies did too.  A few small butterflies and moths were out.  The hummer with no dark streaks on its throat hung around and posed.  I heard a blue jay but never saw it.  Crows and geese, of course, were around.  Clouds built up again in the late afternoon and started to sprinkle.

More sunshine and clouds

We had rain overnight but the sky was clear for sunrise.  Titmice and a hummer were hungry, along with the regulars.  An egret stalked along the bulkhead. 

At lunch the hummer returned.  A skink crossed the steps. A red spotted purple lit on the camellia.  A June beetle trundled along beside the pool and a camel cricked paused on the opposite side.  I rescued a mama wolf spider but about half the spiderlings had already jumped ship and were trying to balloon their way out of the skimmer. 

In the afternoon, a male goldfinch and a Carolina wren escaped getting their picture taken. The hummers, however, posed and posed.  One is scruffy with a molting throat, another is quite white.  A blue jay almost avoided the camera.  A blue dasher tried to intimidate me as I went past.  The slaty skimmer was back too.  And finally a fox came through the yard and "set a spell."
 

Passing clouds

Another beautiful day.  Small butterflies have come and gone too quickly for identification.  A hummer visited.  A hawk with a long tail circled overhead and a great blue heron glided over headed downstream.  Blue jays have taken an interest in acorns.  The 12-spotted skimmer was on patrol again.

At lunch, a skink skedaddled.  The black swallowtail and the slaty skimmer were back and a tiger swallowtail flitted through the trees.  A passing boat flushed a little green heron.  A small weeping conk fungus is emerging from the oak stump.  Two Carolina wrens called to each other.  A male goldfinch preened high up in the oak. And a mockingbird looked ragged atop the redwood. 

A glorious day

The regulars came to the feeder while the hummers checked out the refreshed juice but didn't settle in for a drink.  Lots of wasps buzzed around but not other insects.  The portulaca blooms looked lovely to me but not to bugs.  A tailless skink ventured across the patio.

In the afternoon I saw one titmouse come to the feeder.  The night heron stalked along the shore again.  A black swallowtail laid eggs on the rue.  A twelve spotted skimmer hunted overhead.  An osprey passed by headed West.  From the pool I was able to see two foxes just outside their den under the neighbors' deck. Some clouds occluded the sun at times. Since I cut off the rotting sunflowers some of the lower buds have opened. 

Down to the creek!

The wind switched around and is coming out of the West, pushing fat cumulus along.  It is very clear and the sun is intense.  A hummer visited early.  A blue dasher was up already. 

Skinks were out at lunch.  A tattered hairstreak pollinated the portulaca.  A yellow ladybug climbed the morning glory. 

I got down to the dock, I think for the first time this year. I saw an amberwing, a dark dragonfly that wouldn't stop, an orchard spider, and a jellyfish, but it was high tide with not much action.  The sun was intense, so I didn't stay very long.  A white feather was caught in the roots by the creek bank.

Later when the tide went down I saw a great egret and a great blue heron.  The wind made the late afternoon more chilly than I had expected. The clouds put on a show. 

Rain clouds

Not much rain fell - enough to wet surfaces but not enough to make a puddle in the birdbath.  The titmice were at the feeder early along with the regulars.  A hummer came but didn't drink.  Later the fledgling male cardinals got into a dispute.

At lunch, a flock of robins, starlings, and blue jays flew from tree to tree.  A juvenile starling is quite attractive.  But I don't know what it found to eat in the cedar.  A skink that had recently lost its tail ran across the step.  A blue dasher clung to its perch in the face of wind gusts.  Clouds were still flowing to the Northwest. 

There has been kiss-and-hide sunshine in between dark clouds.  I happened to glance out the bedroom window and saw a yellow crowned night heron stalking in the grass.  It got what it was after, as did I, despite the window screen in the way. 

The clouds built up into towers in the late afternoon.  Then at dusk, cloud to cloud lightning made huge flares in the sky.  I only saw a couple of actual lightning bolts but lots of flashes that lit up the sky.  I couldn't take a photo fast enough so I just started clicking randomly and caught some. I also took a bit of movie - now I need to find the software to view it.  Tonight was the last of the Perseid meteor shower, but at least the cloud cover gave us a light show. This was looking North. 

Dramatic clouds

At breakfast, the regulars were joined by titmice.  I saw the first morning glory blossom at the top of the feeder post.  About 8am, a fox galloped through the yard.  A little later a dove landed, but didn't stay.  A young hummer was very hungry. 

After my meeting, in the late morning a few raindrops fell - I could see ripples in the water but no marks on the pavement.  The male goldfinch paid no attention as he worked on the sunflower.  I think I saw a wren under the bushes.  The titmice and the regulars were busy at the feeder.  A female slaty skimmer dragonfly used the rosemary for a perch.

Out front, fat carpenter bees worked on the lantana.  Mushrooms, and possibly a slime mold, popped up from the mulch down by the crepe myrtle.  I think the mushrooms may be brackets feeding on the roots of the oak we lost to borers.  A yellow-bronze mushroom I'm guessing was an amanita muscaria began to emerge next to the driveway, but when I looked for it today, it was almost gone.

At lunch, a couple of great egrets disputed possession of the creek shore. A tiger swallowtail flitting through the trees looked at first like the male goldfinch.  A little later I saw a black swallowtail touch down on the water for a drink, I suppose. 

In the afternoon, the clouds continued to boil up and flow off to the Northwest.  Blue jays set up a ruckus in the wooded area and I went to see why.  All I could see was a juvenile night heron on the fence beyond, but even after it flew off the jays kept on, so I guess it must have been a snake.  A brown thrasher, cardinals, and other birds joined the jays. 


By 10pm, the clouds cleared enough that I went out to see the "super moon," now a day passed full.  I had to find a spot without leaves in the way, but I got the craters and maria and old Tycho. 

Sunshine!

The hummer feeder was empty!  No wonder an early bird flew off without a taste.  It's now cleaned, refilled and rehung.  The regulars and the titmice appeared early.  Later the goldfinch pair appeared but did not stay.

Mid-day, a cicada killer hunted in the mulch for a good place to lay an egg.  An adult five-lined skink waggled its long, original-and-undamaged tail.  Dragonflies perched around the yard. A black and yellow wasp prowled around the last sunflower.

During our very late lunch a blue jay visited.  Then a scruffy-looking hummer tried the fresh juice.  Later, a female Eastern pondhawk with tattered wings landed on the step. 

Dull white overcast

Titmice and the regulars came for breakfast.  A Carolina wren scurried around under the rosemary.  The sky was not fully overcast at first but turned white by mid-morning.

At lunch, the titmice were back.  The male goldfinch worked on the new sunflower seed head.  A female hummer hovered here and there, including the lavender.  Skinks dashed across the pavement. 

By early evening the promised rain had not appeared. A swarm of birds came for supper.  A male towhee stopped by briefly.  Both male and female goldfinches chowed down.  Many titmice competed with the regulars.  A twelve-spotted skimmer zipped overhead.  At twilight a couple of foxes trotted around the pool and ran across the back yard.

Tonight was supposed to be a "super moon" - a full moon when its orbit brings it closer to Earth.  The sky cleared somewhat at sunset but clouds in the East obscured moonrise. Even at bedtime there was too much cloud cover. 

Hazy

Lots of titmice are everywhere.  The tailless cardinal still rules the feeder.  He ran off the other male and the juvenile that male was feeding.  A hummer investigated the feeder but did not drink.  The male towhee made a brief visit.

Skinks were out in the afternoon.  And dragonflies.  For a while the sky was white, but then it cleared somewhat. K cut back the morning glory vines and I cut off the rotten sunflowers.  A pair of crows settled in the oak. 

A nearly full moon hung over the trees. 

Hungry birds

First a towhee, then the regulars and a cloud of titmice arrived.  Two Carolina wrens ate on both the feeder and the ground.  Juvenile cardinals begged and one finally figured out how to land on the feeder perch.  The female towhee was joined by the male, but they didn't get along.  Then a juvenile mockingbird landed on the patio. A hummer came by but the congestion was too much for it.  The male goldfinch came for a look.  A squirrel climbed the post through the morning glory vines, then sat on the feeder to wash off whatever the morning glory had left in its fur.

Dragonflies and wasps appeared as the day warmed.  A black swallowtail and some small butterflies came by.  Mushrooms had popped up in the grass. The ground cherry had lanterns beginning. And at lunch, a white breasted nuthatch came to the feeder.  It was waiting for the finch to let it land on the feeder.  A skink ran across the patio.  A tiny beetle like a yellow ladybug hunted in the rosemary.  A yellow wasp looked for prey in the rotting sunflowers.  

Sunny with big cumulus clouds

The female towhee poked around below the feeder, joined by a juvenile cardinal that hasn't figured out the feeder perch yet.  The two adult male cardinals got into a fight.  A hummer visited briefly.

I went looking for the Mississippi kite but had no luck.  There were fiery skippers on the lantana when I got home and a white cabbage butterfly flitted past.  The male towhee showed up at lunch.  He can erect a sort of crest when agitated.  I saw a skink after lunch.  

The sky cleared in the early afternoon, then clouds came back as the sun moved into the West.  I found a big dead green frog in the pool skimmer.  Lots of little, flat snails clung to the pool rim.  I saw a wolf spider and a reddish slater spider that preys on isopods.  A tiger swallowtail flitted over the pool.  While I was in the pool, two hummers fought over the feeder.  One looked like a male but the sun was behind it so I couldn't be sure.  Dragonflies perched along the retaining wall. 

While sitting on the patio, I saw titmice, goldfinches (M&F), a brown headed nuthatch, a mockingbird, and a blue jay.  The female towhee returned and the hummer warz continued.  I was on the phone and thus missed photographing the nuthatch which was soooo close.  The clouds brought their own drama and a brief downpour followed by the sun's return.