Overnight storm

We had quite a thunderstorm in the middle of the night.  There was a power outage and plenty of lightning.  I hope the plants got a good soaking.

At breakfast, I noticed red showing on the gladiolus. The cardinals were hungry. The storm left the air very humid.  A tiger swallowtail flitted across the yard.  The female cardinal continued to take nesting to the tall cedar. 

Later in the morning a black swallowtail egged the rue.  A couple of great crested flycatchers buzzed around.  An osprey, a buzzard, and laughing gulls patrolled the creek. 

"Dangerous heat"

That's what the paper said.  Nevertheless, today the sweet gum tree was removed to make way for the renovation.  It scared wildlife into hiding, those that might have ventured out in the heat.  The front yard was left barren out to the shade of the pecan.  The lilies under the pecan bloomed.  I saw a brown thrasher inspecting the bare dirt.  A cardinal appeared to be drinking from the hose spigot.

In the back yard, I saw the female cardinal ferrying nesting to the tall cedar.  Sawdust blew on the strong wind. That and the clouds may have mitigated the heat a bit.

A bright, almost-first-quarter moon hung in the West at bedtime.  The 99° high matched the record.

Summer heat

Though this is no hotter than the last couple of weeks of Spring.  The first sunflower opened overnight.  The sakaki began blooming to the delight of bees and fireflies.  I noticed the chaste tree was blooming too, as I watered the transplanted azaleas. 

A black swallowtail took an interest in the rue and a tiger flitted through.  Saddlebags appeared in the late morning and a red Carolina saddlebags found a perch on a dead twig in a dogwood.

While in the pool rescuing beetles and a wasp, I found a pinkish caterpillar floating limply.  I wonder if it was the wasp's prey?  Also, while floating I observed papa cardinal feeding a fuzzy gray youngster in a cedar.  Mama cardinal carried nesting into a different cedar.  And the house wrens were all around.

Four twelve-spotted skimmers took over the airspace.  Appropriately for the first day after the solstice, I heard cicadas.  Three goldfinches (two were females) visited but wouldn't let me take a photo.  Big cumulus clouds sailed East in the middle of the afternoon, then the sky cleared, then it got hazy with faint pressure ridges.  Meanwhile the crescent moon moved from overhead to behind the roof.

In the twilight, as the sky went silver and the fireflies began to flash, the cardinals were still feeding at the sunflower cafe. 

Solstice

A little rain fell overnight and the morning sky was full of clouds.  I think the sunflowers grew an inch overnight.  Titmice and a Carolina wren joined the usual feeder birds.  K hung fresh juice for the hummer. 

By mid morning the sky was clear and the dragonflies were out.  I also saw a black swallowtail flitting around but ignoring the herbs.

According to this, the moment of solstice today was 12:39pm here.  I took a photo of a chair's shadow.  Around midday, a widow skimmer took a perch on the patio.  It did not stay long and the saddlebags returned around 2pm. 

The pool was packed with leaves - the heat and wind and insufficient rain stressed the dogwoods.  The house wrens started singing again after the sun slid West.  A little green heron flew overhead squawking.  A few wispy clouds sped out of the Southwest.  Wasps visited the remaining flowers on the rue.  A blue black mud wasp flicked its wings continually, whether irritated or delighted, I don't know.

Hot

At breakfast, a family of titmice commuted between feeder, dogwood, and cherry. A squirrel with a sore right arm came for a drink.  Later another sprawled where the concrete was in the shade. 

Lots of dragonflies and a few butterflies were out in the hot sun.  I saw a yellow skimmer, several saddlebags and a mating pair of somethings.  The saddlebags patrolled at treetop height.  The house wrens stayed busy but paused to sing.  Finally a skink appeared after weeks without seeing one!

The predicted thunderstorm did not appear.  Wispy cumulus clouds rushed out of the South and the afternoon felt a bit drier as well as breezy.  A blue dasher perched on a thorny rose branch.  Late in the afternoon, the overhead patrol was taken up by twelve-spotted skimmers. 

A great crested flycatcher hung around all afternoon. It was in every tree and bush, wheep-ing.  A hummer visited but rejected the juice, so K took it in to wash.  The regulars were busy around the yard, as were the house wrens. 

Cloudy

A goldfinch checked out "his" garden of sunflower plants.  They are beginning to make heads. 

In the afternoon, on my way back across Lynnhaven Inlet, an osprey flew low across the road.  When I got home, a tiger swallowtail was feasting on the lantana by the driveway.  Beetles and spiders were in the water and some beetles and a wasp had drowned.  I was buzzed by dragonflies.

The sky looked like a storm might be brewing and a faint halo appeared when a cloud blocked the sun.  The wren continued to sing about the joys of home ownership. I heard other songs I didn't recognize. 

Wet morning

There wasn't much water in the birdbath but everything was wet and dripping.  It either rained overnight or the dew was really heavy.  At least three fledgling titmice joined the regulars at the sunflower cafe, begging but feeding themselves.  House wrens zoomed around the yard.  A female cardinal had a beak full of nesting material - about time!

I was inside for the rest of the day.  About sunset I started home, but dark cloud cover prevented any sunset light. It was still very hot. 

Slightly cooler

K hung the clean freshly juiced hummer feeder.  Chickadees and cardinals showed up for sunflower breakfast.  A brown thrasher foraged underneath.  The birdhouse rocked and then a wren burst out.  From the storm last night, there was rainwater in the birdbath but it was not full.

Mid morning, a goldfinch visited to drink from the hummer feeder's central water well.

At lunch a couple of blue dashers disputed over a perch before each settled on a different one.  I glimpsed butterflies including a tiger swallowtail. 

More beetles and spiders went for a swim.  While in the pool, I saw a couple of Carolina wrens debugging the oak trunk.  Then a nasty greenhead fly appeared and I left. A twelve-spotted dragonfly patrolled overhead but I'm afraid it was not big enough to catch the fly.  I heard a green heron but didn't see it. 

Another scorcher

At breakfast, I saw a great crested flycatcher at the top of the pine. The portulaca put out its first blossom.  Wrens were still at work wrenovating.

The sun was fierce and the sky that blue that seems ultraviolet.  Thankfully there were clouds and a light breeze.  Wasps continued to touch-and-go on the pool surface.  I rescued many beetles and several ungrateful spiders.

A basilica orbweaver set up shop in the rosebush.  The flycatcher was back in the afternoon, atop the redwood, panting in the heat. The wren proclaimed home ownership. 

At sunset there was a massive cloud in the Northwest.  Fireflies were out again.  A couple of hours later thunder and lightning accompanied gusts of rain. 

Breathlessly hot

 In the morning, titmice joined the regulars.

Thunderheads passed by.  A pair of geese had a Muscovy duck nanny watching their goslings with them.  The house wrens were disputing house ownership and perhaps other matters.  This downy woodpecker checked out a dogwood.  A dove walked around the patio.  Wasps landed on the water for a drink and successfully took off again.  I rescued many beetles and a few spiders.  The sunflowers began to make flower heads.

I saw a mockingbird on the way to a meeting.  On the way back the sky glowed like a furnace.  At home, fireflies were out.  97° - today broke a temperature record set in 1885.  

Hazy and slightly cooler

The regulars were joined by titmice for sunflower seeds.  A Carolina wren surveyed the place from the top of the post, but did not partake.  The house wrens continued to work on the birdhouse.  I think this is a new pair and the previous family fledged early yesterday.

Geese and a cormorant were out on the creek while herons and gulls flew over.  A blue dasher obelisked on one of the perches in between dashes after snacks.  A cabbage white and a tiger swallowtail fluttered across the yard while another dragonfly zoomed across above the cherry. 

The house wrens were moving in twigs and singing ownership all day.  Meanwhile, I found some wren feathers in the pool - two tail feathers and some down.  Another dramatic cloud filled the West in the evening. 

Very hot

A house wren visited the sunflower feeder - fledgling?  Dragonflies were on patrol.  A squirrel trudged around looking for a drink.

I took the underwater camera to the pool and photographed a tan beetle, two red queen ants, and a fishing spider, not very successfully.  I rescued a half dozen ground beetles and more spiders.  A wasp lit on the water right in front of me, for a drink I guess. 

Dark cloud cover moved slowly from the North accompanied by thunder. There was only a light sprinkling of drops.

I began to think that the birdhouse was empty, but finally I saw a wren at the door.  I also heard wrens singing as well as scolding all around the yard.  Then a wren appeared to be adding twigs to the house - a second family?  Cardinals were all over but hesitated to come to the feeder with us outside. 

Steamy

Not a whole lot to see this morning.  I was running errands and saw the library mockingbird. The regulars visited the feeder and the house wrens kept working.  A big Muscovy duck took a look at our pool then waddled downhill toward some geese.  The crape myrtle burst into bloom this morning, joining the lantana, nandina, and gardenia.  The bugs had not yet discovered the lantana.  Fat cumulus cloud piles sailed East.

The spider webs were all gone from around the front porch.  In fact, the only sign of insects was a mud dauber nest high up.  In the back yard, a female blue dasher dragonfly occupied one of the shorter perches.  I saw an osprey banking over the creek.  As usual, there were foolish beetles and spiders to rescue from the water. 

I was in Norfolk in the evening when the swallows pirouetted above the roofs.  A huge flat-topped cloud to the South flushed gold, then rose, on my way home.  The crows were circling around their favorite winter gathering spot where 264 crosses 64.  Fireflies were out when I got home.  It was still above 90.

Hot

90s were predicted for the next three days.  The titmice were up early feeding fledglings.  The regulars were hungry too.  K rehung the clean hummer feeder.  A house wren landed on the sunflower feeder roof then flew off to the house roof.

A blue dasher used one of the dragonfly perches at lunchtime. Menacing clouds passed through without doing anything.  Later, that or another blue dasher took up a post above the barrel where we dump the pool skimmer, which does attract bugs.  Smart dragonfly!

There was a spider with way too much facility in running on water in the pool.  Huge ants, some brown and some black, that I think were from mating swarms were in and around the pool.  According to a post on HRWE, these females are called virgin gynes.   The black ones were identified as Camponotus pennsylvanicus.  Some were missing their abdomens.  I suspect birds were catching them on emergence and biting off the good bit.  I think I saw a titmouse do just that.  I finally caught the house wren removing the nestlings' poop.

Clouds in the West cast dramatic rays of shadow. Sunset was faintly pink.  Then the fireflies came out. 

Sunny

Cardinals and house wrens were up at dawn, as was I.  Much later, at least two titmice seemed like a mob.  They were followed by a cloud of house finches. A dove strutted around the patio.

At lunch, a bee was working hard on the nandina flowers. Ants got past the lint barrier to invade the hummer feeder.  HRWE identified them as Camponotus castaneus a type of carpenter ant. 

A female golden-winged skimmer appeared in the afternoon.  It looked enough like yesterday's yellow-sided skimmer to confuse me.  Toward evening dramatic clouds played peek-a-book with the sun in the West while the rest of the sky was just hazy. I was in Norfolk and was treated to swallows dancing in the air over the rooftops. 

Overnight rain

It was not enough to fill the birdbath and it did not reduce the humidity.  But the birds slept in and no one visited the feeders at breakfast.  I saw an egret fly over. A bumblebee loaded up on pollen at the nandina flowers.  Though the sky was hazy and clouds blew East, the sun shone all day.  The gusty wind cleared out the leaves that died a week ago when there was no rain. 

At lunch a Carolina wren visited.  While in the pool I was entertained by a singing towhee.  Usually I only hear their call.  Blue jays also escaped the camera.  I need to try the underwater camera.  Even though some chickadees are now feeding themselves, they still make "feed me" cries.  I guess that will take time to wear off.  Titmice and cardinals were wary about the feeder with me sitting so close.  I saw the house wren removing poop sacks, but the camera missed.

Lots of dragonflies hunted through the day.  There were big darners, a dragonfly with a dusty blue abdomen, another with yellow rings around the abdomen, and finally a yellow-sided skimmer that perched.  The little spider and its web had disappeared from the pool.  I rescued some beetles and spiders.  Lots of wasps visited the rue, paper wasps, thread-waisted wasps, mason wasps, and yellow jackets. 

Serious clouds appeared in the late afternoon and rain finally arrived at sunset. 

Humid

A hot sun discouraged activity.  A Canada goose checked to see if the coast was clear, but spotted me.  The titmice were hungry as were the chickadees.  I think a wren parent came with food to the birdhouse every two minutes on average.  But the chickadees also spent time around the birdhouse.  I heard a flycatcher and a towhee, but didn't see them.  Lots of dragonflies hunted despite the wind.  A cabbage white stayed low to the plants.  An adult skink with a red head dashed down the steps. 

A bluebird flew across Pembroke Boulevard in front of me. I rescued a patent leather beetle from the pool and put it on a sunflower leaf to photogrph.  The tiny spider was still on its tiny web in an angle of the pool coping. 

Lovely day

The white spot squirrel was up for breakfast.  She sniffed around where I'd dumped dust from the bottom of the trail mix, but it was all gone.  A titmouse joined the regulars. An eagle circled high over the house just as we were leaving.

When we finally got home, the regulars were hungry and the wrens were busy.  Squirrels were flirting in the beauty berry.  A tiger swallowtail crossed the patio. 

In the evening I could hear a great crested flycatcher but it stayed out of sight.  Titmice and chickadees competed for seeds.One fledgling chickadee figured out how to use the feeder but in between hammering seeds it still cried to be fed.  The baby wrens let the world know every time a parent arrived with a morsel.  A brown thrasher foraged under the oak. 

Sunshine at last

I had a morning meeting.  Heavy looking clouds still hung around but there was blue sky and sun.  The wrens were busy and noisy.  Titmice competed with the regulars at the feeder.  K hung fresh clean hummer juice. The wasps rejoiced on the rue. 

I went to rescue a beetle from the water only to discover it was a Japanese beetle.  I threw it back.  Later I did rescue a little spider and a damselfly.  Another tiny spider had constructed a white patch of a web below the pool coping.  I wondered if it was an infant argiope.  A cabbage white flitted about.  I think the blue jays have a nest up in the oak. 

At supper, something was darting around the treetops that may have been a flycatcher, but I can't be sure.  Clouds moved in toward evening. 

Wet

The only rain this morning was blowing off the trees but everything was dripping.  A brown thrasher forged in the mulch at breakfast, followed by a female towhee.  I had only seen the male for at least a month.

A fine mist began to fall at lunch.  The wren hatchlings were louder today and their parents cursed when I got near the birdhouse.  A hummer rejected the juice in the feeder so I took it down to clean.  A dragonfly clung to the wall of our house. The air outside felt dank and mushrooms were popping up. 

The regulars competed for feeder space because the number of chickadees increased.  I think I glimpsed a Carolina wren on the feeder too.  Meanwhile the house wrens relayed bugs to the family.

A fox went by on the far side of the pool, too fast for me to pick up the camera. 

Rain, mist, fog

We had an early appointment and left in heavy rain.  On the way home, the rain became fog and mist.  When we got back two geese and their five goslings were in the pool.  The goslings needed a platform to get out and it took quite a while for the last one to make it up and over.

The feeder was busy and hummers also visited, but didn't like the juice.  Time to change.  A Carolina wren and a white breasted nuthatch joined titmice and the regulars for sunflower seeds.  I saw laughing gulls over the creek and a great crested flycatcher in the pine. The house wrens ferried food to their hatchlings.    The chickadee fledglings were everywhere getting fed by harried parents.

Toward evening the fog returned.  I saw a firefly and, of course, a slug on the window. 

Gray

There was only a little rain during the morning.  The turtle was still in the pool. A flower head appeared on the lantana and the coral lilies were blooming.  So was the oleander, the hot poker, and the yarrow. A rusty-colored squirrel harassed mama white-spot in the mulch. 

At lunch two titmice bullied the chickadees while giving way to the cardinals.  The wrens were in and out.  The turtle tested out the board but didn't crawl up it.  An osprey circled. 

K and I undertook a team rescue: K on the pole and me in the pool.  Between us we herded the turtle up onto the steps where I lifted it out.  Heavy!  And it put on an amazing turn of speed for the 10 yard dash to the creek.  I used the underwater camera to take this photos of the escape.  The water was 75 and felt warm compared to the air.

Afterward, I heard a very soft tse-tse every time a wren visited the birdhouse, so I think there's at least one hatchling.  I tried to get a photo of the parent using the underwater camera but there's no zoom. 

I believe our pool guest was a Northern Red-bellied Cooter.

Rain started up again in earnest around 7pm.  A chickadee fed a fledgling on the feeder hanger.  A male cardinal came to the feeder without realizing the other male was in the mulch below.  So they had words, again.