I saw mockingbirds outside the recreation center. When I came home the rain was heavier but still not enough to fill the birdbath. Cardinals and chickadees visited the feeder.
More clouds appeared in the West. Skinks scurried about on their inscrutable business. Tiger and black swallowtails and possibly another species hunted their special plants. There were lots of wasps again, including a new one, and I rescued a strange bee from the water. Fiddleheads are unfurling on the Christmas fern. One columbine plant escaped being weeded. 
The wretched cat lurked in the next yard and at one point I saw it go over the fence. I listened to a wren and saw blue jays. A towhee hunted under the white azalea. Egrets were out on the creek. But the feeder went unvisited. As Snoopy would say, "Stupid cat!" 
In the afternoon, I saw a yellow swallowtail, a dark dragonfly, and lots of wasps. A buzzard circled and a little green heron flew downstream. Blue jays stuck to the brush. The bottom fell out of the birdhouse - cheap glue. The jessamine is finished blooming, the dogwoods are nearly done, and the azaleas have taken over. The wild cherry is in bloom. 
When I returned, the sun warmed me enough to sit outside, though wind gusts were chilly. A tiger swallowtail and a black swallowtail, bees and a bee fly all enjoyed the sun with me. I found a caterpillar no bigger than this: ! on the rue. Swifts danced in the blue sky. All sorts of birds were singing, but I couldn't locate them now that the leaves were out. A pair of goldfinches courted on the feeder. Skinks were out on the patio as well.
The morning was colder than predicted and everything was wet. Rain was still falling lightly. The birdhouse turned its back to the window again but I saw some activity. A Carolina wren was also out and about. Two pair of cardinals shared the yard, not amicably. One couple was courting under the cedar. Then the females got into a fight by the squirrel sculpture. Later a very wet female showed up on the step.
Meanwhile, two white throated sparrows foraged. I think they may have been migrants from further South rather than the ones that wintered here. The male towhee joined them. The hummer showed up late looking very cold. I read that hummers go into torpor overnight. 
Clouds moved in overnight. The female hummer returned, or I suppose it could be a new one. The cardinals were courting on the feeder perch again, but another male was hanging around in the bushes. A slow-speed chase ensued as first one then the other relocated about ten feet. Later a Carolina wren appeared. A few gulls flew over.
Rain began in the late morning. And at lunch we discovered a tenant was already moving in to the birdhouse! The house wren lacks the distinctive eye-line of the Carolina wren, above. Meanwhile chickadees were very busy at the feeder and house finch couples also came by. A couple of mockingbirds visited and I believe I saw one being chased off by the hummer. Canada geese made a to-do in the creek. 
It was a female, and hungry - it fed three times while I read the paper. What a nice round tummy! A male cardinal was active in the bushes, possibly catching bugs for the family. A dove walked around. Other than those, birds were scarce. I think the winter migrants have gone. The sun was bright and I think there was less wind than yesterday. The birdhouse no longer showed only its back. I put out the improvised mealworm feeder but it tossed a lot in the breeze.
I was away most of the day. At least I bought a bird house. I've some qualms whether it is functional and it will have to be a one season house as it does not open. But it was half the price of the plastic ones I've been using that aren't available any more. I also got something that may work out as a mealworm feeder, if I'm clever. Of course, as soon as I hung the bird house it twisted around back-to-front. 
A cardinal may have been eating cherry buds. It certainly found something to like in the choke cherry. The wind today kept the day from ever feeling quite warm. 
Clouds flowed out of the West in the early evening, along with strong gusts of wind. They were solid to the North and only scattered in the South -- and then they cleared. 
Sunrise was lovely with creamy clouds lit from below on a vividly blue background. Each tree was a different shade of green. The suet was down to a nubbin and a male downy was hard at work on it. . I wonder if I will see the woodpeckers or the starlings when it is gone. 
Wasps continued to peel thin layers of wood off the bench to make their nests. The Polistes exclamans kept elevating their abdomens like dragonflies do when trying to cool off. There are similar photos in BugGuide. A skink apparently found me in the way and lost its mind, scrabbling all over the green bag that held the pool cover. Finally it hid underneath and peered out at me. It was close enough I could see its sides flutter. 
The day began sunny but clouded over as the morning progressed. Blue jays flew across the yard but never came close. A mocking bird did its best to eat suet. The towhee , the starling, the woodpeckers, and the white throats all came back during the afternoon, as did the three regulars. 
Cardinals courted on the feeder perch where he didn't have to work hard to feed her. House finches and chickadees were joined by downy woodpeckers at the feeders. I put out mealworms which were gobbled up by a squirrel. White throats and a male towhee foraged under the feeders and I glimpsed a wren down on the lower patio. An emergence of flying insects, probably mating termites, from the mulch attracted dragonflies. 
Yellow pollen made artistic swirls on the water. As night fell, I saw two bright planets, one descending to the West, the other just past zenith. But no moon - tonight is the dark of the moon. Friends reported fog out over the bay but I saw none. 
Mallard drakes kept landing uninvited in the pool while Canada geese hung out on the floating dock. There was lots of honking all morning. A couple of Carolina wrens flitted through the shrubbery. A cabbage white also flitted around. Hover flies, bees, and other bugs buzzed around the flowers. I think the temperature dropped a bit. Fish jumped in the creek.
After lunch, I saw a blue tailed skink. A cabbage white appeared to have lost much of its hind wings, probably to a bird. Four blackbirds and a flicker landed in the sycamore which has begun to leaf out. 
Clouds moved off East. The male towhee was very much in evidence yesterday and today. I'm guessing he's feeding a brooding female. A brown thrasher foraged in the grass and a cardinal found something to eat in the cherry tree. There were two male cardinals around. I glimpsed a male goldfinch as I was folding sheets. The downy woodpeckers, yellow rumped warblers, and white throated sparrows were still here. The starlings came back again. Only mallards disturbed the creek.
At lunch time I discovered a female mallard with her bosom plopped over the pool coping. A dragonfly buzzed the pool. Then a five-lined skink with a very short tail posed on the side of the steps. Clouds kept slowly passing East. 
The sky was streaked with cloud that gradually filled in. A red bellied woodpecker came to the suet but startled and flew off. A blue jay flew past. White throats and downy woodpeckers hung around. I had to chase mallards - two drakes and a female - out of the brim-full pool. Already it was covered with pollen and flower strings from the oak since the water was above the skimmer.. 
A dove meandered around the patio. It was joined by a male towhee. Then two starlings arrived. One sought suet but the other carried off nesting material. A goldfinch pair showed up only to be scared off by the starlings. A brown thrasher disappeared under the azaleas. The red bellied woodpecker came back for more suet. 
Spring showers kept everything wet but didn't put a drinkable amount of water in the birdbath. I need to fill it as the pool is now open and the birds have lost the pool cover puddle. Downy woodpeckers were back at lunch. A bee tried to get satisfaction from the hummer feeder. A crow ran an osprey all over the sky.
I slept late and probably missed a lot. In the mid morning, a female red bellied woodpecker came for suet. A little later, a Carolina wren was on the suet cage. White throats were out foraging. There was a lot of honking on the creek but all I saw was ripples.
The sky was hazy blue. In the late afternoon juncos appeared and a towhee flew by. Other than that, I saw more woodpeckers, warblers, and white throats. 
The feeders were lively this morning. The goldfinches returned as did the red bellied woodpecker and a Carolina wren. Yellow rumped warblers tussled, downy woodpeckers took turns, and white throated sparrows were everywhere. All three of the feeder regulars showed up - cardinals, chickadees and house finches. And, we were visited by a chipping sparrow, the first I've seen in several years.
The sun shone and the trees bloomed. The creek was flat at dawn but soon its surface was in motion. It was pleasantly cool when I picked fresh narcissus. A blue jay was out in the trees. 
I was trying to photograph a titmouse when a goldfinch pair appeared. And, as I photographed them, a male red-bellied woodpecker scared them off. He got a seed before the counterweight closed the feeder. Then he moved to the suet. Yellow rumped warblers, white throated sparrows, and downy woodpeckers also came to breakfast. Cardinals and chickadees showed up but house finches have not been so regular this Spring. 
The day began with some mist and less than the usual birdsong. White throats were out in force and warblers were battling over the suet.
The noon haze congealed into afternoon overcast with occasional moments of sun. A gusty wind moderated the humid heat. Even though it's been dry I found a mushroom. I've never seen sassafras blossoms before, so here they are. The red maple has gone to seed. Money plant blossoms peeked out of the azaleas and violets poked up out of the grass. Bees swirled around the Carolina jessamine. Two kinds of paper wasp nibbled on the wood slats of the bench - red with yellow trim and black with red. A yellowjacket looked for a nesting spot. The wind grounded a black swallowtail, maybe the same one as earlier.
Downy woodpeckers got up the gumption to ignore me. I saw a kingfisher streak by and heard it thereafter. A flock of birds in the trees made a more musical rattle. Unfortunately they were always back-lighted so all I know is they were dark birds with lighter beaks. Then a little bluegray gnatcatcher started zipping around across the pool from me. 
It was raining when I got up but that soon stopped. The usual suspects came for breakfast. I was busy all morning. After lunch, I saw a female hooded merganser on the creek. 
Rain caught me on the way to get the newspaper but had tapered off by the time I took the garbage out. A mockingbird flashed me on the driveway. The usual birds (cardinals, chickadees, butterbutts, downy woodpeckers & white throated sparrows) were joined by the goldfinch pair in the morning. The woodpeckers take turns on the suet but sometimes the female gets impatient. 
When I went to un-brick the feeder, I found a very unusual bird on the dock piling. I thought it might be a half albino cormorant but I've been told it's normal for a juvenile to get bleached like this. It hung around for quite a while. The sky was gray but the air was warm. Flecks of rain spotted the feeder. 
The feeders soon attracted a great variety of birds while more hung out in the bushes. A pair of goldfinches had dressed for summer. They were courting on the feeder perch till a titmouse bullied them off. Two Carolina wrens were everywhere and white throats also scurried around the patio. The warblers and woodpeckers kept at the suet. Two mockingbirds drank from the pool cover. A blue jay, a towhee, and a brown thrasher flitted around the bushes. Bumblebees and wasps were out again as was that cabbage white butterfly. 
The yellow rumped warblers were still competing for suet, but uninterested in the mealworms. Titmice joined cardinals and chickadees on the seed feeder. The downy woodpeckers bumped the warblers. White throated sparrows were out foraging as were two Carolina wrens. The wrens appeared interested in the mealworms. A blue jay drank from the pool cover. I need to clean the birdbath.
As we got lunch ready, a male towhee foraged beyond the pool. A warbler decided I was no reason to stay off the suet. When I came inside, the woodpecker came back. By this time the sky was filled with fluffy, cotton clouds. 
When I did, warblers, woodpeckers, and white throated sparrows showed up. A sparrow with a rusty cap and unmarked white tummy landed on the feeder but flew off before I could get it into focus. Two warblers briefly shared the suet till a third chased them both away. Then a brown thrasher appeared to dive on a downy on the suet, but instead the brown thrasher contented itself on fallen scraps. It's one of the few birds that tolerates squirrels. A couple of blue jays chased through the trees, courting or establishing territory? Two Carolina wrens foraged on the patio. They look younger and less grumpy than the grill inspector.
A carry-out carton sailed downstream on its own reflection. At lunch the brown thrasher returned and settled in on top of the suet cage. Then the male downy showed up and moved in. They shared the suet for a while but the brown thrasher was first to leave.
In the afternoon, a wind from the WNW picked up. Three female hooded mergansers fished up and back down the creek. An osprey hovered overhead but didn't see anything and moved on. The brown thrasher returned yet again. Chickadees were everywhere. One clung like a leech to the suet, even when joined by a warbler. 
I installed the hummer feeder on a sign hanger which I put across the steps from the other feeders. It's very close to the ground so this may not work. A curious chickadee hopped on but couldn't figure out how to make it dispense food. I saw spider threads - eggs must have hatched.
