Migrants arrive

After breakfast, a hooded merganser drake paddled upstream all by himself.  He was almost two weeks early.  I expect them around Veterans Day.  The feral cat sashayed across the pool cover and pretended to hunt something under the azalea.  

So far downy woodpeckers have been the only birds interested in the suet block.  It's been a while since I last saw a red bellied woodpecker.  During lunch, I spotted a pied-bill grebe on the creek.  Someone's trash drifted past it.  Storm clouds circled the horizon in the middle of the day but nothing came of them.  The wind was not so fierce as the last two days but, with a temperature that barely made it to 60°, it wasn't pleasant outside.  

A house finch drove its kin and smaller birds from the sunflower seed feeder.  The red breasted nuthatch managed to get a turn and I managed to get a picture.  Not a very good one.  A Carolina wren got right into the bowl of bark butter balls like it planned to hatch them.  Most of the clouds disappeared before sunset and the remaining cumulus puffs turned peach color.  

Gusty

I think crazy Zeta slowed down once it got back over water.  We had a hard rain overnight and gusty winds today. But while yesterday's Southwest wind was warm, today's North wind was not.  It pushed the tide over the dock, but this close to a full moon, the tide would be high anyway.  Mallards lined the shore in the afternoon. 

The downy woodpeckers were pleased with the block of suet.  The suet cage is easier for them than the bark butter dishes, and it sheds rain.  The grape jelly I put out turned to juice.  A female cardinal got interested in the beauty berries, which lost quite a few leaves.  

Hurricane Zeta

Zeta landed on the Gulf Coast yesterday and streaked diagonally across the Southern states, aiming at Delaware. I was online with people in other parts of Virginia where it was raining mid morning.  The rain didn't start here till 2:30pm but the wind was already very gusty at noon.  It was also very warm.  Zeta traveled at over 50mph and was out over the Atlantic by evening.  I have never heard of a tropical storm crossing a thousand miles of land in one day. 

The day began with a pretty sunrise but became overcast quickly.  The feral cat arrived after breakfast.  A downy woodpecker wanted suet but spooked.  A red breasted nuthatch made several trips to the sunflower seeds between wind gusts.  But it was too fast for me.  A blue jay asked for bark butter balls.  

The wind gusts peeled all the gold leaves out of the oaks and drove them like a blizzard.  They formed drifts on the creek.  On the front porch we found a hermit thrush that had hit the wall or window.  I left it to recover or die.  The sky began to clear after 4pm though the wind stayed strong.  

 

 

 

 

Blah

There were squirrels and house finches.  I saw a ground beetle on the patio and a cloudless sulphur in the camellia.  A seagull flew over.  Leaves turned color and fell.  And when I came in, there was a spider on the threshold. 

Two day trip to NC

It was foggy when we left and gray when we returned, but fairly sunny in North Carolina.  On Monday, I saw a pretty garden in the historic part of Hillsborough.  Toward evening, the waxing moon shone in an almost cloudless sky.  I could hear a few birds that I couldn't see.  There were some scary-sized anthills in the reddish soil. 

Tuesday was cloudier in North Carolina.  We briefly visited a small city park (with a dry detention pond to control runoff) that had a wildflower border.  Trees were much further advanced toward Autumn than back home and most of the wildflowers had gone to seed.  Their beauty berries were redder than mine. A couple of bagworms hung from twigs.  

On the way home, I got pictures of Kerr Reservoir and the Roanoke River.  The sky grew overcast soon after we turned East.  We passed a surprising number of cotton fields in Virginia.  

Wet

A downy woodpecker found the suet.  A Carolina wren picked at the bark butter balls.  And the rain began.  

Summery

A Carolina wren breakfasted with us but the rude thing had its back to me and I got mostly moon shots.  While the light was rather low then, by mid morning the sun was fierce.   A few wispy clouds may have been fragments of contrails. 

A blue jay went after beautyberries, which were still in the shade.  A great blue heron on the dock was obscured by vegetation.  The dock was also full of mallards.  A field cricket wedged itself between two logs when it saw me.  I only saw a couple of turtles basking though the temperature climbed into the low 80s. 

I finally replaced the hummer feeder with a suet feeder.  By late afternoon the sky was full of big, low-hanging cumulus clouds that prevented me locating the first quarter moon.  They were still there after dark.  

Wheelbug

The clouds were very strange, thin as veils but many different shapes We had a dock full of mallards again.  A black swallowtail showed up to lay eggs on the parsley.  The slime mold fungus was surrounded by sparkles.  The wheelbug was still hanging around the patio.  I spotted a brief sundog in the afternoon.. Turtles enjoyed the sunshine. 

Quiet

I didn't see much of anything.  The creek was still at breakfast but there was no fog, despite a prediction.  In the morning we went to Chesapeake to swap plants.  If I'd brought the camera, I could have some nice garden photos, but I didn't.  Nothing was stirring in the afternoon except a breeze from the North.  The sun was warm despite more high, thin clouds.  I found a just popped violet seedpod with the seeds still inside.  

Misty and wispy

Morning started misty, not quite fog. The sky was full of wispy mares' tails.  The creek was still but reflections were grayed by the misty air.  A wheelbug rested on the screen door and threatened me when I came outside.  The heavy dew revealed one spiderweb in the grass.  Later, after the mist disappeared, mallards napped along the shore.   

Some branches of the oak turned golden brown but most of the tree was still green. Dogwood leaves turned to stained glass when back lit.  The wild cherry's yellow leaves could pass for fairy gold.  

In the afternoon I noticed a blue jay pouncing on something in the grass.  Then a squirrel jumped the bird and came away with an acorn.  I tried to photograph the crescent moon but the wispy clouds confused the camera.  At times, the thin ridges of cloud looked like gigantic fingerprints.  

 

A beetle scuttled across the patio.  Then a red spotted purple flitted around the trees looking for a sunny resting spot.  I thought I saw a bird drop out of the maple and hurry under the azalea.  It may have been the Carolina wren that was poking its beak into the leaves nearby.   

Humid

Everything was wet when we got up - dew or rain?  There was enough sun to make the turtles happy.  The slime mold fungus looked about the same.  Obviously I didn't spend much time outside or even looking out windows.  Maybe after election day?  

Pleasant

I was busy cooking for much of the morning, but I caught a blue jay pouncing on something.  It was successful but I couldn't see what went down its gullet.  

Suddenly between one picture and the next, the bird changed.  Instead of a blue jay, I was looking at a flicker.  The flicker quickly ascended a hackberry trunk.  And I was left wondering what goodie the blue jay gobbled.  

The sky clouded over but turtles continued to enjoy the warmth as they lined up on their log.  

Warmer

Again, I missed too much of another lovely day.  A female downy woodpecker hesitated for a long time before snatching a bark butter ball.  I glimpsed a dark butterfly, probably a red spotted purple.  

When I got outside, a mockingbird cussed me out, but kept carefully hidden in the dogwoods.  But then a careless brown thrasher popped out of the azalea right in front of me.  It pounced on something but I couldn't see what.  I found another slime mold.  This one was the common "dog vomit" variety.  a shapeless fungus that fooled me into thinking it was a slime mold.

Chilly

Sunrise was lovely with just enough clouds to show off their smoky peach tints.  Later the clouds disappeared and the sky became a crystalline blue.  But even a bright sun couldn't warm up the cold wind.  The new moon tide ran high with the wind.  A red spotted purple defied the gusts.  

Turtles covered their favorite log, soaking up sunshine.  A great blue heron flew over the house (defecating as it flew), then landed and preened atop a post.  Crows set up a cacophony so I watched for a hawk, but no luck.  A mockingbird fussed in the sakaki.  

 

Weather went downhill

We started out at room temperature even though the sky was gray.  But that was the high point and the chill set in quickly.  Mallards napped on the dock. Something yanked berries off dogwood branches but I never got a good look at it. 

At lunchtime I discovered a Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) clinging to the wall.  K showed me a wheelbug that had gotten trapped between window and screen.  I persuaded it to leave.  By then fine rain was spitting drops on the window.  In the afternoon I had some errands but I left them too late and had to deal with real rain driven on cold wind gusts.  The few feeder birds looked miserable. 

A murder of crows

Another glorious day when I saw next to nothing.  The creek was glassy at breakfast.  The feral cat was puzzled that it could not make the water well up by walking on the pool cover.  (The water level was too low.)  

After a chilly start, the day warmed thanks to a bright sun and a breeze from the South.  A flock of crows tried to eat up all the bark butter.  And they weren't even willing to pose.  Rude.  

Sunny

The tide at dawn was high and as smooth as glass.  Goldenrod was in bloom.  A dozen turtles soaked up the midday sun.  In the evening a great blue heron perched on a post and watched the ducks go by.  

Farewell to the pool

The day never got as warm as predicted, or it would have been even harder to see the swimming season end.  I figured the pool closing crew would scare off all the wildlife so I didn't really bother to watch for birds.  I did discover two sizable monarch caterpillars demolishing the butterfly milkweed.  I found the black swallowtail caterpillar as well, but it had a lot more growing to do. 

Then, the male kingfisher perched on a piling downstream. The wind played havoc with his ragged crest.  The tide was surprisingly high.  So the day was far from wasted.  

Invisible birds

I actually got a final, final swim even though the wind shifted around to the North and there was even a sprinkle of raindrops. The water was 72 but the air was balmy and the intermittent sun fierce.  I rescued many beetles, two spiders, an earwig, and several of what I think were winged ants with reddish bodies.  A drowned vole was floating in the water and a beetle was using it as a raft. 

A misbegotten squirrel must have sat beside the pool to open its stolen pecan and left the hull fragments staining the concrete. There were whistles and squeaks in the trees but the only birds I could identify were a brown thrasher in the beauty berry bush and a mockingbird in the dogwood.  An osprey and several gulls circled over the creek.  A couple of skinks came out to enjoy the sun while it lasted.  

And more rain

There were brief, slack periods of drizzle and the rain never became a downpour, but the whole day was dark and wet and humid and warm.  The remnant of Hurricane Delta dragged the moisture up from the South.  I saw two mallard pairs dabbling under the bulkhead.  A mockingbird flashed across the yard.  I was able to locate the black swallowtail caterpillar but not the monarch.  Chickadees and house finches made occasional feeder forays.  One female house finch had conjunctivitis.  A couple of little moths continued to cling to the window through the day.  I was reminded that little brown moths comprise the vast majority of Lepidoptera, not butterflies or the bigger, more colorful moths. 

Rain

The first camellia bud burst open.  I don't think we've ever had the last hibiscus and the first camellia coincide, not to mention the daylily that was also still blooming.  But of mobile life, all I saw were a couple of house finches.  

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Finally, after living here for decades, we joined.  So today we went for a walk in the afternoon under a haze-smeared sky and veiled sun.  Asters attracted fiery skippers, a variety of bees, and some hornets.  At least, I thought there was more than one but it was hard to tell.  The hornet hit flowers instead of landing on them and also threatened other insects.  A big, fuzzy, yellow bumblebee hovered around the giant hyssop but I couldn't get it in focus. 

We heard piercing bird calls that originated from mockingbirds. 

One posed on a rosebush and another on a roof finial.  Lake water was disturbed by many tiny wakes and rings.  I speculated that it was fish feeding time and just then a big on leaped out of the water.  We also saw a heap of black wing feathers and dark gray body feathers under a pine tree.  

Bright and breezy

The hibiscus bloomed!  I didn't realize it had any buds left.  The feral cat was prowling along the shoreline - fishing?  Later in the morning I saw the tabby cat had got out again and was dashing back and forth across our front yard.  

A red spotted purple butterfly posed showing off its red spots.  A mockingbird peeked out from the dogwood.  I think it was after berries and I think it was the bird I couldn't identify yesterday.  

The asters were mostly finished blooming but a wasp found some nectar.  Little beige moths flew up everywhere I walked.  There were two caterpillars stuffing themselves, one on parsley, the other on on butterfly milkweed.  

Last swim?

I hurried outside after breakfast to catch the waning moon before it dropped behind the trees.  I love the trees but they raise the effective horizon.   The water was 72° but the air was ten degrees warmer and the sun was fierce.  There was, however, wind which got stronger as the afternoon went on.  But for such a beautiful day, I saw very little beyond the expected: Canada geese, mallards and crows.  A sulphur flitted into the trees and I glimpsed a dragonfly while in the car.  A few bees and wasps hung around the decapitated mountain mint.  I kept catching glimpsed of a bird I think might be a red eyed vireo, but it was too shy to make a positive identification.  Wildlife hate wind more than cold or rain. 

Beautiful day

 

Sometimes a beautiful day doesn't reveal any interesting wildlife.  The early morning creek surface moved just enough to add curves to shapes.  The sky was almost cloudless but I could not find the waning moon.  A very red-haired gray squirrel soaked up sun on a tree limb.  I rescued a beetle and a cricket from a floating leaf.  A long legged fly was attracted to the beauty berries. Something ate dogwood berries but stayed out of sight.   

A cormorant circled high over the creek.  Neighbors fished, one with a line, the other with a net.  I could barely make out the shapes of minnows under the surface.  I think we may have oysters growing on an old block of cement.  After the fishermen left an great blue heron moved onto the dock next door.  

Skink rescue

A gorgeous day, but it was too cool and breezy to think of getting in the water.  I can deal with cold air or cold water, but not both.  A snout butterfly rested on a dogwood leaf just long enough for one photo.  A carpenter bee explored a daylily flower.  The mountain mint was deserted and when I looked closely, most of it had stopped flowering.  Perhaps that was its response to the spider mites.  In any event, it will give me a chance to douse it in Neem Oil. 

Even if I refused to swim, that didn't stop the ground beetles, or a skink that may have been after them.  When I reached down to try to lift the skink out of the water, it dived.  Then it slowly drifted deeper as though it was dead.  But eventually it came swimming back to the surface.  Then it rafted around on a leaf while I went to get the pole with a screen on the end.  The leaf may have been a psychological comfort but it was useless as a flotation device.  When I got back with the pole, the skink let me lift it out of the water.  

The floating leaves made interesting reflections in the sunlight before they softened and flattened.  I found a few toadstools over by the redbud trees. 

Wet and dreary

 I don't believe I saw anything today but raindrops.

Catbird seat

A rather shredded red spotted purple visited the wild cherry leaves.  I found a cicada shell in the mulch.  A few wasps were hungry enough to ignore the breeze.  A few magnolia seed pods were splitting to show the red seeds.  Since it was too cold to swim, I pruned the witch hazel that was obscuring the view of the bluebird house.  K continued to cut away arbor vita.  

An egret took up residence on one of our pilings while mallards paddled past.  It is very hard to photograph a white bird in the sun.  The crows got upset about something, presumably a hawk.  I was annoyed at them because something carried off a nearly full tub of bark butter. 

I missed shots at a Carolina wren and a brown thrasher, but a pine warbler was kinder to me.  Then I spied a catbird in the beautyberry bush.  

Gusty

Clouds covered the sky when I got up but soon disappeared.  They returned and dissipated throughout the day.  Low tide was quite high, driven by a cold, gusty wind that filled the pool with tree debris. 

The celosia attracted bees and wasps.  A black swallowtail made the rounds of rue and parsley while a red spotted purple flitted around but never perched for me.  

A Carolina wren offered me some very photogenic poses.  And all the while, it kept winking.  A brown thrasher feasted on beautyberries.  A cardinal dropped out of the dogwood where he was probably eating berries.  Then a mockingbird arrived, looked the situation over, and chose dogwood berries.  

In the late afternoon mallards paddled close to our shore.  Then a male kingfisher flew to one of the neighbors' dock posts.  He plunged into the creek several times and got at least one fish.  An egret strode upstream.  The feral cat caught the the fishing bug and swiped at something in the pool.  I hope it wasn't a skink.   

Summery

The temperature rose from an overnight dip below 60° to a high above 80° with the help of a fierce sun in a crystal sky.  Since it was a full moon, the tide was very low in the afternoon.  The still surface reflected the pines above the bulkhead. 

A monarch flitted through,paused for a snack of mountain mint but ignored the butterfly milkweed.  Perhaps it was a male?  A duskywing found the celosia. A jumping spider lurked on the mountain mint. 

I had to dispose of a frog and a skink. A lively young skink scuttled down the pool deck.  I thought it was going for a swim, but it slipped into a crevice instead.  At least one squirrel had warbles. 

Well after midnight I went outside to see the full moon.  Mars was hovering nearby as its orbit brings it closest to Earth.  According to EarthSky,"It’s brighter this month than it will for nearly another 15 years, until September 2035."