Cold wind

The sky was overcast when I got up but it cleared by the middle of the morning.  (Yesterday was warm and lovely, but I was inside almost all day.)  For the first time, an Argiope spider made it to Halloween.  I found some shreds of spinyback web but no spider. Lots of black swallowtail caterpillars ate rue, but I didn't see any on the milkweed or the parsley. 

A downy woodpecker came for some suet.  A blue jay flew into the oak.  Lots of little things flitted around and I couldn't even tell if they were birds or bugs.

Because it was Halloween, I sat outside with the candy and the spider to make sure no one tried to kill her.  It was very cold.  I saw a couple of black ground beetles, a small moth, and several other spiders, mostly cobweb spiders and a long-body cellar spider behind the Argiope.  I heard a strange hissing cough that I hope was a squirrel, and heard feet pattering on the roof.

Warm

The sky was clear till late afternoon and the temperature rose quickly.  I was in back-to-back events and missed most of it.  When I got home, birds were flitting around the edge of the yard.  I believe this was the first yellow rumped warbler of the season. 

I saw a blue jay sail into the oak and a streak that was identified by its kingfisher rattle.  Chickadees came to the feeder.  The spiders survived the nighttime chill and I saw small bugs flying around.

Gusty

Overnight rain didn't amount to much, so I watered anyway.  The clouds cleared off around 11am.  Cardinals and chickadees were all I saw visit the feeder.  Maybe the wind discouraged the birds?  It didn't stop the squirrels.  They buried this, dug up that, and ate everything. 

White sky

Everything was quiet at breakfast - water, feeder - only the squirrels were busy.  A nervous male cardinal came for seeds.  A couple of small birds flew downstream, maybe sandpipers?

When I got my chair back from the upholsterer, I discovered that the Argiope took up residence in the doorway.  She didn't like the open door pulling on her web, but she hung in there.  I believe the spinyback orbweaver survived too.  The sun leaked through the haze and the wind picked up, but the creek stayed glassy. 

Sunset was rose red and quite dramatic.

Home

When we arrived yesterday, chickadees were on the feeder.  It was chilly but sunny.  Today, was more of the same, but the birds were scarce.  The feral cat may have scared them away.  The suet didn't look like much had been consumed but the mealworm dish was empty.  Milkweed and morning glories were still blooming.  I saw a great blue heron fly over pursued by crows.  I suppose it had something tasty that they hoped to make it drop. A mallard pair glided past on the glittering water. 

Cardinal males appeared mid day and continued their feud.  A single crow chased a hawk across the corner of my view. Squirrels were everywhere while blue jays stayed in the oak.  Something shot out of the beauty berry bush. I found a caterpillar on the rue, but none on the milkweed.  Crickets and a grasshopper were stridulating out of sight while bees and moths flew around.

Windy

The warm days lasted most of the week.  I saw a monarch butterfly, Wednesday I think.  Lots of bees were still visiting flowers.  Fog returned Friday and then the temperature dropped.

Today was sunny again and fairly warm but quite windy.  On a side street, I saw chickadees and up an alley I startled a downy woodpecker.  I was exploring on the last day here. 

Fog

It has been unseasonably warm on the Cape with a light wind from the South.  I suspect that brought this morning's fog.  I saw a heron when we arrived.  Some other birds didn't look like the usual gulls and cormorants but I'll have to see what's on the photos.  The full moon low tides went out to the end of the burnt wharf.  Tonight the moon rose pumpkin orange, but past full and lopsided.  The other night, I missed the Wallops Island launch though it was supposed to be visible here.

Sunny all the way

A Carolina wren was digging into the mealworms at breakfast.  Mallards were paddling on the creek.  I saw a lot of pelicans from the CBBT and a heron from the marsh beyond.  Cabbage whites showed up all along the way.  In NJ, I saw a live groundhog by the side of the road and alas, two dead deer.  Lots of buzzards soared over the asphalt. 

A big round moon rose as we headed to supper.  I tried to capture it on my cell phone.

Dawn fog

The fog dissipated before 9am and the day turned sunny.  A brown thrasher paused on the pool cover.  A pair of squirrels fondled each other on a dogwood trunk. I glimpsed a wren at lunch but had left the camera on the other side of the house,  Finches reappeared from wherever they spent the storm.

A cabbage white enjoyed milkweed nectar.  Then a brown headed nuthatch came for suet.  It was followed by a titmouse.  Egrets at the dam outfall were disturbed by workers sawing up fallen trees.

Suet season

K bought suet cakes and I hung a block where the hummer feeder had been.  Cardinals and chickadees investigated but weren't interested.  A Carolina wren was. The day was again sunny with a glassy dawn creek flowing into motion by mid-morning.  A snowy egret fished in the dam outfall.  Bumblebees visited the morning glories, perhaps because a second color came into bloom.  A filthy squirrel came to the birdbath for a wash up. 

A monarch butterfly sailed around and landed on turning dogwood leaves, but returned to the milkweed. At lunch,a mockingbird appeared and tested the suet. Gulls circled high over the creek. 

When I came home around 4pm there was a lot of activity in the redwood.  Two red bellied woodpeckers had a skirmish.  I think I saw a blue jay fly across the yard. I certainly heard one scream. 

Warmer

Summer blew out to sea with Matthew but the North wind finally abated.  It was still coming from the North, but only as a breeze.  Cardinals fussed at each other.  There were at least three of each sex trying to gain dominance.  Turbulent water continued to pour down the dam outfall but the creek upstream was glassy in the dawn light.

At least one catbird was hanging around, along with blue jays.  Chickadees joined the cardinals at the feeder but I didn't see any other birds there.  Carolina wrens fussed in the junipers by the trash cans but I couldn't find out what upset them.  A flicker hunted in the grass.  Egrets fished in the dam outfall where the tide was down to a normal level though lake water was still pouring out. 

The rain hadn't brought out any new mushrooms yet.  Some of the birds nest fungus had disappeared while others had matured.  A skink used the edge of the pool cover as a refuge. 

A spinyback orbweaver set up its web in the front shrubbery but I could not find the Argiope.  Another spinyback web was in place on the West side of the house with an orb above it.  I couldn't find a spider to go with the orb but it had a small patch of whiter threads in the center.  I saw a cloudless sulphur, maybe a tiger swallowtail, and a monarch. Bees visited the herbs and I saw a paper wasp. 

The sun was right in my eyes as I started toward my evening meeting.  It made a brilliant rainbow sundog on the North side, but I wasn't able to stop when I had a clear view.  The clouds got very colorful and then I saw the massing of the crows.  When I got home the waxing gibbous moon was overhead, flaunting its scars.

Blue sky

At dawn the sky was smudged with clouds but it soon cleared to an intense blue.   Clouds and sun traded off but the sky was free of haze and humidity.  A North wind kept it chilly.  The feeder birds were happy to have things back to normal.  Doves visited at breakfast.  Egrets continued to fish the torrent from the lake.  I saw lots of downed trees and standing water on my morning errands. 

The pool was covered this afternoon.  Usually I'm sad, but today was so much colder, it was more of a relief, especially with all the storm debris in the water.  The feeder birds spent much of their time eating berries since the feeder was a bit close to operations.  at twilight the wretched feral cat appeared.  I had not seen it for so long I thought it might be gone.

Hurricane Matthew

I woke up to high wind but a fairly light rain. A couple of mallards paddled by on the swollen creek.  Three egrets paused where the water met the grass above the bulkhead across the creek.  Others waited by the dam outfall.  Geese and more egrets appeared.  Cardinals came looking for breakfast along with a dove.  The only damage, so far, was the gangway to the dock shifted off its mooring and might float away. The bench on the West of the house blew over. 

I saw a hungry bumblebee headed for the rosemary.  All the spiders disappeared except one cobweb spider huddled over her eggs in the corner of a window. The seed eaters made little forays to the feeder which I had tucked into an alcove.  They also chowed down on berries.  Squirrels were out too.   The sun came out after 3pm and the sky was clear by 4pm.  But the wind didn't stop and the water didn't begin to drop till 5pm. 

Waiting

Hurricane Matthew was off South Carolina and there was little rain and wind at breakfast.  The birds looked where they expected to find the feeders but didn't seem to see them down on the patio concrete where we'd put them in case of high winds.  Two Carolina wrens poked around in the rosemary and left after disturbing the tiny mint moths.  Cardinals were testy.  Only the mourning dove seemed satisfied as it foraged on the ground and drank from the birdbath.  Bumblebees visited the herbs. 

An orange bodied, daddy-long-legs harvestman clung to the window screen.  An egret perched on the dock bench.  I saw the kingfisher, but it flew off.  The feeder birds continued to hunt for the seeds.  Maybe they need a trail?  No, by noon the cardinals knew where to look.  Titmice  appeared but didn't hang around to investigate. The yellow-breasted bird flicked through the cherry. 

Rain showers began around 1:30pm and the wind picked up. The windows facing North were soon too streaked for photos. No more waiting, by 4pm it was really storming. When dark fell, the slap of rain on the windows, lightning, and roaring wind were frightening. 

Mysteries

It was warmer and less windy as well as sunny.  What a nice surprise with a hurricane in the offing.  Cardinals were still hungry but not so willing to ignore each other.  Berries as well as seeds were popular.  A Carolina wren slipped behind the wooden fence.  To my amazement, the spinybacked orbweaver's web was in place this morning.  Either it escaped the mower or it rebuilt overnight in the same spot.  The barn spider web above it looked abandoned.  The argiope in the spartina survived too.  There was even a tiny spiderweb on the house plant in the bedroom.  Bees visited the herbs.

There were butterflies at lunch - a red spotted purple, a cabbage white, and something orange.  The sky was very hazy with a few wispy clouds blending in as they sped West.  On the ground the wind gusted occasionally.  The seed eaters kept the feeder busy.  Blue jays stayed behind foliage. An osprey hovered, then flew off before I was aimed.  Egrets were around all day.  I got bad photos of two different birds I couldn't identify, though I think on was a ruby crowned kinglet. The other mystery was in the dogwood. 

By mid afternoon, the sky had become mostly overcast.  There were breaks in the cloud cover but they didn't often line up with the sun.  I could hear the kingfisher but was unable to get sight of it.  A skink darted past me on the sun warmed concrete.  The saltbush had begun to turn white with its feather-duster flowers.   A few stalks of goldenrod whipped in the wind.  A new fungus popped up under the oak.  Something dug a large hole under the sakaki but I couldn't see any reason for it.

A monarch butterfly was buffeted by gusts and didn't venture over to the milkweed, even though the new crop of flowers had begun to open.  A red spotted purple went about its job of laying eggs in the cherry.  I also glimpsed a cloudless sulphur.  I rescued an acorn weevil from the water.   A lovely crane fly clung to the screen door.  A yellow jacket hunted for something among the morning glory leaves, possibly the bug nymph that appeared after the wasp left. 


Squirrels mated on a dogwood limb despite the male having warbles.  Just before dark we took in all the things that might blow away and generally battened down for the storm.  A great blue heron sailed overhead to its nighttime roost. 

Windy

The wind pushed the high tide over the dock.  Gusts shook all the colored leaves down.  The sky stayed overcast.   A squirrel was fascinated by something just below the pool coping, but wary of falling in.

The seed eaters were out in force: more than a half dozen cardinals plus finches and chickadees.  Doves poked around on the ground.  The migrants flitted through the shrubbery.  I got a glimpse of yellow on the beauty berry which I believe was a yellow breasted chat.  Cardinals came for the berries and so did a catbird.  A vireo was everywhere but I never saw it eat.  Blue jays stuck to acorns.  A red bellied woodpecker landed on a dogwood trunk briefly at lunch.  I saw a bumblebee and a few tiny moths but no other flying insects.  The lawnmower took out the spinyback orbweaver but the argiopes seemed OK. 

While I was outside cleaning debris out of the pool, a kingfisher flew overhead screeching.  It patrolled up and down the creek with it's rattling screech as though the wind was great fun.  It drowned out the blue jays.  Meanwhile the feeder birds kept stuffing themselves.  I heard other birds but didn't see them.  Yesterday's caterpillar found a new leaf to roll up in.  When I got out and came in, somewhat pink from the cold, a couple of Carolina wrens showed up for mealworms.  Then a light rain began and streaked the glass so I got no photos of all this. 

Wind from the Northeast

The moon was between new and first quarter but the wind pushed the high tide into the grass.  Clouds covered the sky.  Cardinals were out and about, but not much else was stirring.

When I came home around noon, a bird got into the garage.  It was gray with a lighter belly and no distinguishing marks that I could see as it zipped back and forth. My one photo was a blur.  Other birds weren't much more cooperative, except of course for the feeder trio.  A titmouse slipped in for a seed but did not return.  Blue jays kept to the shrubbery and the oak.  A brown thrasher poked around under the cedar.  A yellow breasted chat and two red eyed vireos appeared, but moved too fast for the cloud-dimmed light.  A migrating hermit thrush was more stationary. 

Leaves on the canna looked chewed recently and today I noticed one rolled up.  There was a caterpillar inside that fit this description.  Given the size of the caterpillar, I was surprised it was such a small butterfly.  A dark butterfly struggled against the wind.  I couldn't tell if it was a black swallowtail or a red spotted purple.  I saw field crickets and even saved one from the water (which I was not motivated to enter.)  The spiders all seemed to be surviving the weather, even the argiope down near the water.

Sunny morning

Not much was stirring at breakfast, just cardinals.  The domestic morning glories were glorious but the wild flowers were sparse.

I was stuck on the computer and missed most of the rest of the day. While on my way to an evening meeting, I snapped the menacing clouds that had gathered.

Chilly

Mushrooms popped up again in the flowerpot with vines.  I wonder if the fungus is the reason the vines haven't thrived.  There was a brief, light rain around 10am, then sun for awhile, then clouds.

Skippers visited the morning glory.   Bumble bees and southern purple mint moths were flying.  The pink camellia opened its first blossom.  I got a bad photo of a gray and yellow bird that might be the same as yesterday - a white eyed vireo. 

Neither the air nor the water felt warm.  I rescued glass snails, a scarab beetle, and a couple of azalea caterpillars, mainly because I didn't like the idea of their corpses floating around.  While I was in the water, a couple of brown thrashers chased each other around a cherry tree.  I also saw a little bird with a white belly hiking up a tree trunk.  Blue jays eluded the camera and I think I heard a red bellied woodpecker.

A gorgeous sunset tinted bars of cloud first tangerine then rose.  There were still fireflies and of course the crickets were singing.

Morning sun, afternoon rain

A leaf-footed bug landed on the window after breakfast.  Egrets fished in the dam outfall but elsewhere the creek was quiet.  A great blue heron showed up later.  Doves foraged under the feeder.  A Carolina wren poked its head in then disappeared.  The morning glories didn't close till noon.  Something hopped around the cherry and never let me get a clear photo but I think it was a white eyed vireo.

The tide was high at mid day.  The same or another argiope appeared in the same part of the spartina as the one I saw back in August.  I saw a cloudless sulphur and a red spotted purple flitted all over. Something else zipped past leaving an impression of eyespots.  I rescued a skipper from the water.  Also a spider, beetles, crickets, bristletails, and a two lined spittlebug.  Orange aphids infested one stalk of milkweed.  Despite the chewed leaves I could not find caterpillars.  One half grown black swallowtail caterpillar was finishing off a nearly denuded parsley. 

A sizeable gray russula mushroom popped up under the hackberry.  Speaking of which, I tasted a hackberry berry and it was kind of sweet and gritty like a pear.  A few stalks of goldenrod were blooming.

After lunch, a titmouse joined the regulars on the feeder.  The rain that had been threatening for hours finally arrived at 4pm.  It did not last too long.  But it got birds excited and I saw some kind of warbler with a yellow breast, possibly a yellow breasted chat.

The sun reappeared but not for long.  The sky was overcast when the sun set. 

Cloudy

I was gone all morning.  At lunch time, blue jays zipped around the yard. A fledgling cardinal discovered beauty berries. Egrets patrolled the creek.

A Carolina wren thought about mealworms but scared off.  A dove hung around the mulch.  A skink made it to the rosemary before I got the camera on.   I toured the spider webs.  The argiope caught a monarch butterfly.  The aranea barn spider moved to above the spinyback orbweaver which was repairing its web.  I did not see the smaller spinyback.  Some fiery skippers worked on the lantana.  I also saw a cloudless sulphur and an orange butterfly. Birds nest fungus popped up in the mulch all around.  The mushrooms I saw before were gone but a new one showed up out front. 

I rescued a mama wolf spider, a stink bug, an assassin bug nymph, a cricket, and a couple of beetles.  Carpenter bees visited the rosemary.  Blue jays argued over an acorn and a red bellied woodpecker complained.  A couple of great blue herons argued over the egrets' fishing hole while the egrets ignored them.  A soaring osprey made a U-turn and disappeared behind the trees.  There were more clouds than sun in the afternoon though it was warm enough.  Sunset was spectacular with fractal clouds catching color.  And I saw fireflies!