Pelicans

The ice that lingered through yesterday had disappeared by breakfast.  Pelicans were fishing throughout a rainy, gray day.  Hoodies, buffleheads, cormorants, gulls, and a heron joined the fun.  

Between the wet and the warmth, songbirds were less enthusiastic about the feeders.  Plus I left the cover on the upper dish of barkbutter balls to keep out the rain.  And I brought the jelly dish inside for the same reason.  Still, I saw two kinds of warbler (pine & myrtle), two kinds of sparrow (song & white throat), bluebirds and blue jays, Carolina wrens, juncos, and brown headed nuthatches.  And those vegan goldfinches were entirely too interested in barkbutter.  They will, however, eat mountain mint seeds, it appears. 

During a lull, I scrubbed the windows to get rid of the flecks of debris that confused the camera's focus.  Yesterday, I finally downloaded a month's worth of photos the hard way.  I still need to decide which are keepers.  The cold damaged a lot of leaves and destroyed all the camellia flowers, but fresh buds were beginning to open.

Frozen creek

Even though it was a little warmer and sunny, I don't believe the creek ever melted today.  But that's nothing compared to some parts of the US. 

Still frozen

Not so windy and not quite so cold, but there was ice on the creek and I could not keep the birdbath thawed.  The camellia flowers were ruined but it remains to be seen whether the buds were damaged.  The day was sunny till late afternoon when streaks of cloud spread into a colorful sunset.  I was too cold to traipse down to the dock to get the best view.  

The paler female oriole enjoyed jelly. I didn't see either male or the darker female.  We were away much of the day so I probably missed a lot of birds.  I did see a white breasted nuthatch, juncos, and all the usual birds.

Frozen

Overnight was as cold as predicted but less windy.  I poured hot water into the birdbath twice and each time it refroze.  But while it was still fluid, it was popular with the songbirds.  The creek didn't freeze on account of the wind agitating the surface, I think. 

A female towhee came to eat the seeds I scattered.  So did a flock of cowbirds and red winged blackbirds along with one starling.  A crow flew to the post and scolded till the left.  There weren't many seeds left for the sparrows and juncos.  

A female red bellied woodpecker took the suet away from the downy.  Bluebirds and warblers alternated between suet and barkbutter balls.  Even the nuthatches took turns on the suet.  The Carolina wrens ate some of everything.  

Gale

"Winter Storm Elliott Intensified Into Bomb Cyclone With High Winds..." read an alarmist headline. Around 8:30am the clouds began to pull apart, the wind picked up, and the temperature headed down.  I hustled food out for the birds once I was sure the rain was finished and while the air was still moderate.  This is a NOAA image of water vapor but it seemed to me to show the shape of the storm more clearly than the wind map.  

Rain

After a couple of bright, sunny days, the rain arrived.  Unfortunately it's the precursor to a polar vortex of howling wind and a 40° plunge in temperature, according to the prognosticators.  The birds may also have foresight because they were not lulled by today's 58° high or by the rain.  They shook out their feathers and stuffed their wet faces.  I glimpsed a blue jay, a blackbird, and a mockingbird, but the sparrows, warblers, orioles, bluebirds, nuthatches, and downy woodpecker were as persistent as the house finches, cardinals, chickadees, and titmice.  Juncos made a brief visit.  

A pair of buffleheads cruised the creek while a great blue heron watched.  Egrets and gulls made a commotion on the lake just above the dam.  In the afternoon as the temperature began to fall, mist rose from the lake.  The waterfowl disappeared.  

Still cold

The chill makes birds hungry.  I've seen Carolina wrens, mockingbirds, pine and yellow rumped warblers, bluebirds, blue jays, a starling, goldfinches and house finches, titmice, chickadees, cardinals, a female downy woodpecker, brown headed and white breasted nuthatches, and mourning doves.  

A few hooded mergansers have joined the mallards on the creek.  Two crows chased off a hawk.

Cold

Lots of hungry birds showed up at the feeders.  The creek, however, was empty of any waterfowl except geese.  The sky cleared in the afternoon but the air did not warm up.

Bleak

The cold North wind, gray sky, and bare trees made the colors on the birds look flamboyant.  I think I missed the brown headed nuthatch but got pictures of the pine warblers, bluebirds, a blue jay, orioles, a mockingbird, goldfinches,

Eagles?

I was crows gathering so I was half-expecting a hawk.  But the three huge birds burst through the trees looked like eagles.  I saw the underside of one and it appeared to be an osprey but I'm not sure about the other two.  After they flew away, the songbirds came out - warblers and bluebirds.  Doves foraged through the mulch.  

Cold wind

The sun was bright as I drove East.  I missed the morning birds but they came back for lunch.  Male and female orioles couldn't leave the jelly alone.  Brown headed nuthatches intimidated chickadees.  I spotted an odd sparrow.  Warblers and bluebirds were thick.  A Carolina wren and a mockingbird were quick.  Clouds moved in but the sun got through frequently.  I glimpsed a kingfisher and a hoodie hen and a great blue heron.  The sky must have cleared because a big round moon shone like a spotlight. 

Plenty of birds

Orioles, white breasted and brown headed nuthatches, a Carolina wren, bluebirds, pine warblers, and the usual seed eaters arrived in a rush and, after a few minutes, scattered as quickly.  I suppose there was a hawk around.  Sunshine was equally as fleeting and the day was mostly gray.  I still haven't figured out how to download photos from the camera.  

Damp

It was warmer and wet in the morning.  A flock of robins fund something desirable in the trees.  Orioles, nuthatches, sparrows, bluebirds, and warblers were back.  The sky began to clear ing the afternoon, but then changed its mind.  I pruned part of the mountain mint.  

Baltimore orioles

The lady orioles enjoyed grape jelly today.  One had a very orange breast,but the other was more of a lemon yellow with a white belly.  

Many birds!

Saturday was wet and Sunday lived up to its name.  The winter weather pattern settled in, warm and wet or cold and bright.  I've taken lots of photos but haven't yer figured how to get them off the camera and into the computer.  From memory, there were bluebirds, orioles, pine and myrtle warblers, white breasted and brown headed nuthatches, a Carolina wren, juncos, song and white throated sparrows, blue jays, red winged blackbirds, goldfinches, a dove, and of course chickadees, titmice, house finches, and downy woodpeckers.  Hooded mergansers fished on the creek.  

Frosty

I saw a light coat of white crystals on weeds around the birdbath and longer crystals that didn't quite cover the water in the birdbath so I added hot water and put out fresh barkbutter balls.  A flurry of birds arrived including a mockingbird, a pine warbler, and a bluebird.  Later a brown headed nuthatch and a male oriole put in an appearance.

K walked me through the camera setup, but I don't seem to have the magnification I expected.  And I haven't figured out how to get photos off the camera.  I took pictures of the creek reflections, a little flock of hoodies, and cormorants flying across sunset-colored clouds.  I missed the kingfisher and the great blue heron.  

Black and white birds

Still no camera on a bright, cold day.  The neighbors' Japanese maple was on fire in the sun.  Our red maple was stripped of leaves by the wind.  I saw a pair of juncos but still didn't have the new camera ready.  Chickadees and a downy woodpecker completed the monochrome bird presence.  

Camera transition

I took no pictures but I also didn't get the new camera set up.  And I don't recall seeing anything though it was a pretty day.  

I still didn't have the camera set up on the 30th, but it rained all morning and I was busy all afternoon.  

 

Cloudy afternoon

The sun came back in the morning.  So did a mockingbird and a bluebird.  Other birds were very active up in the trees, hunting berries, I think.  Cedar waxwings?  I saw ducks on the creek but they were in shadow and I couldn't identify them.  

The afternoon grew overcast and really looked about to rain but nothing came of it.  While waiting for the dog to take care of his business, I spotted a crow going after an acorn.  

The clouds thinned as the sun was setting.  The ones that remained made a tinted backdrop for the cormorants commuting home to roost.  

Wet and windy

Songbirds stayed away.  Great blue herons occupied the docks, along with mallards.  The herons ignored each other, but they may have been sleeping.  Bushy chest feathers on one heron looked like a beard when it had its neck tucked.  

I spotted the female bufflehead again. A picture I snapped of a mallard drake lined up his bill and its reflection to make him appear to be the Pinocchio of ducks.

It rained less in the afternoon but the wind got stronger. The female downy woodpecker found the suet outside the window, possibly because that spot is more sheltered.  Eventually some rents appeared in the clouds, even as flying leaves photo-bombed my pictures.  It certainly did not feel as warm as predicted. 

More birds

Today's early birds were a white breasted nuthatch, pine warblers*, bluebirds, and a mockingbird.  *After examining the photos, I think it likely that one was a yellow throated vireo.  The cat was early too.  I almost caught Tarzan-the-Squirrel in midair, but not quite. 

An immature chipping sparrow and a junco foraged on the ground.  Then uncounted brown headed nuthatches made forays after sunflower seeds.  They were uncounted because they showed up singly but in such a steady stream that it had to be several birds.  A Carolina wren had to investigate the suet.  While hunting fresh gumballs, I came upon a pile of rabbit droppings.  Surprising that the dog hadn't found them first. 

There were hoodies on the creek and I think I saw a female bufflehead but it dived.  Slight ripples in the water transformed reflections into brushstrokes in a painting. The sun was warm and insects were active but the breeze was nippy.  The winter jasmine put out a couple of early flowers.  Stratus clouds moved in from the West.  Haze blew up contrails into a puffy starburst - there must have been a lot of flights passing over us.  

Rain

As the rain fell gently, but not lightly, the dog studied the situation, sniffed a lot, and decided to stay inside.  All I saw in the gray morning were equally gray titmice.  One landed on the feeder roof and skidded on the wet surface.  A disturbance in the creek was explained when a beak holding a silvery fish popped briefly above the surface.  The commotion moved downstream below the surface and out of sight.  Something else dived before I could identify it. 

The rain drizzled away around lunch time and hungry birds arrived.  Pine warblers argued over barkbutter soup.  They clung to the hanger and bobbed for underwater bites.  Colors were brighter on the freshly washed leaves even in diffuse light that obscured a bluebird. A multitude of house finches and chickadees squabbled over the sunflower seeds.  A Carolina wren held its place at the feeder.  I missed the Carolina wren, and a junco and a white throated sparrow on the ground because I put in a fresh battery and the camera was sulking. 

A great egret took over the neighbors' floating dock.  Two pair of hoodies paddled past.  The females looked more gray than brown.  I checked on the tiny mushrooms and discovered a nearby crop of full sized ones.  They look like honey mushrooms but I'm not brave enough to find out.  The final couple of hours of daylight were sunny but over so soon.  Sunset came at 4:50pm with almost a month still to go to the solstice.  

The cat came back

The creek was in a reflective mood again and it was a lovely day for a holiday.  Bluebirds squabbled and flitted around the wild cherry.  Vegetation was in the way of my line of sight most of the time.  And some of the time I just missed and sometimes the camera changed toe focus to something in the sun.  

And then the cat moved in.  I yelled at it but a few minutes later it was back.  Finally the dog noticed and took off like he'd been rejuvenated.  The cat did not return but, alas, neither did the birds.  Eventually a downy woodpecker was tempted by the suet.

Autumn beauties

The creek reflected sunshine bouncing off tree trunks.  A mockingbird picked up a barkbutter ball breakfast.  Bluebirds came later while I was cooking.  By then the creek had lost its mirror-smooth shine.  

As we ate lunch, the songbirds arrived in force.  A pine warbler went for the barkbutter balls.  The mockingbird came back but I still had trouble getting a picture.  Two juncos and a song sparrow got away from me too.  A white breasted nuthatch joined the chickadees and titmice.  Then brown headed nuthatches wanted sunflower seeds too.  The back of their heads and necks are white not brown.  One lingered on the feeder, not eating, just watching in all directions.  And all the other birds disappeared.  

A great blue heron waded upstream in water up to its belly.  Geese paddled upstream, briefly fooling me into thinking they were hoodies.  An off object washed up, like a ball with a conical tail and a round hole or black spot on its side. 

A violet was fooled by the warmer weather into blooming.  Yellow jackets buzzed around the camellia looking for flowers that hadn't been drained.  I found tiny mushrooms emerging along a maple root.  More clumps of pincushion moss had spore capsules sticking up like green ahir. 

I took lots of pictures of fall leaves but wind keeps blowing them down.  That makes the trees look green longer but prevents reds and yellows from achieving critical mass. The sky was intensely blue and cloudless.  But all too soon the cormorants were flying back to their roost.  

Not much

I didn't see songbirds today, possibly because it was warmer.  Late in the afternoon I checked on the peppers since there had been frost on the grass yesterday morning.  One was starting to turn red so I picked it.  As I came back around the house, I saw the hooded mergansers on the creek.  I think one may have been an immature male.  

Hooded mergansers

We had another lunchtime flurry of bluebirds.

A drake and three hens floated downstream in the late afternoon.

Busy lunch

I didn't see any birds earlier, but as soon as my hands were sticky, here they came.  Bluebirds and pine warblers checked out the menu but didn't dine. Brown headed nuthatches tried for sunflower seeds in between the house finches, chickadees, and titmice.  A pair of winter drab goldfinches poked around the birdbath.  The female downy woodpecker feasted on suet.  I believe I saw a male oriole up in the oak.  A pelican flew downstream but still no migrant ducks arrived.  After lunch the birds disappeared.  

Clouds returned in the afternoon.  An egret flew downstream and cormorants flew in every direction.  In the evening the clouds lit up in streaks of pink. The creek quietly reflected the pink and blue sky.  

Missing migrants

The days were cold and sunny.  All I saw yesterday was the great blue heron.  Today it was mallards and the cormorant commute.  The fallen pint tree was dying.  Some trees were still colorful but they were getting fewer. 

Bright and chilly

The sky was a brilliant blue but the temperature is supposed to drop nearly to freezing..   I didn't see much, just an egret and a great blue heron.   And when I took pictures of the heron, the camera seized up.  Good thing a brand new camera awaits me.  Now I need to find time to learn to use it. 

Cooler

The quiet creek was a mirror in the morning.  A blue jay found an acorn.  Clouds sailed East.  One turtle basked on the log.  At twilight there seemed to be a lot going on below the surface of the creek.  By then the clouds were thick and the light dropped quickly.  

Trip

I went out of town on Monday and came beck Tuesday.  Monday was kind of nice but all I saw were a few buzzards.  Trees in the DC area were leafless and the night was very cold.  Tuesday a heavy overcast hung low and dumped rain of the first half of my return.  When I got back, I checked out the yard and found evidence that the cold did not reach this far. The lantana was blooming again.  I found only one mushroom.  The fatsia was beginning to flower.  The rain eventually caught up around sunset.  

Nuthatches

The Northwest wind pushed the temperature back down.  At breakfast, some raindrops lingered on a North facing window, but later the day turned sunny.  The chill made birds hungry.  I think I saw a mockingbird in the trees but it and other birds left me unsure.  Both white breasted and brown headed nuthatches visited the seed feeder.  The chickadees were not pleased.  A Carolina wren had to investigate.  Some trees were still mostly green while others had lost almost every leaf.  Once the sun came out, so did the turtles. 

 

Heat wave

The paperwhite narcissus bloomed.  I found a ladybug beetle and put it on the rosemary in the hope that it might eat what eats the plant.  Southern purple mint moth caterpillars were suggested in a newspaper article.  After dark, a fairly large mot was attracted to the window but K spooked it.  

Waterfowl

I saw very little for the last two days. The wind and the tide were still high on the 9th. The camera cooperated for once and caught a falling leaf.  The next day I found a pincushion moss that raised hair-like spore stalks. 

In the wet, gray morning today, a flock of birds darted among the trees but I couldn't make them out.  Finally a bluebird landed on the post.   I almost missed it.  The female downy was back at the suet.  Then the rain returned. Even after it stopped, the air was very humid and quite warm. 

A little sun leaked through the overcast mid afternoon.  A great blue heron on the dock had its back to me as it watched the water.  Then I spotted a little pied bill grebe.  A couple of mallards made a commotion.  The female kingfisher perched on the downstream dock but the camera blurred all my photos by focusing on the water instead of the bird. 

After my online meeting, I saw a flock of cormorants flying around as though something had startled them.  But the Canada geese on the ground didn't seem concerned.  Nor did the great egret perched on the lake log. 

Lunar eclipse

I got up early to see the setting "blood moon" and it was impressive.  Though theoretically there was plenty of time, I had to stand in the street to line it up with a notch between two trees.  And the Northeast wind that had cleared the sky felt mighty cold.  So I went back to my nice, warm bed.  

The wind kept blowing through the sunny but bird-less and bug-less morning.  As a result the tide ran very high.  Fluff covered the saltbushes like dryer lint turning them gray.  The sky was intensely blue.   

Sticky

It was still in the 70s and the humidity was even higher.  The sky was frequently overcast but occasionally sunny, which made for lovely reflections.  Yellow jackets and honeybees roamed the camellias.  The strawberry runners I planted survived thus far.  A cabbage white flitted across the yard. 

I sat outside and sorted seeds to save.  The butterfly milkweed seeds were easy but the parsley and rue were tiny and mixed with debris from the seed heads.  Parsley seeds look a bit like the caraway seeds in rye bread, only they're a quarter of the size.  Rue seeds look like blue-gray kidney beans shrunk down to 1/32".  And I discovered that rue seeds are a bit oily.  A clump of brown mushrooms were turning black under the maple in the same spot where the bracket fungus emerged a year ago.  I also found a couple of single mushrooms in the front yard.

The female downy woodpecker had another go at the suet.  I didn't see any other birds except mallards slurping up the floating fluff from the saltbushes.. A squirrel got an itch while on the trunk of the hickory.  It managed to turn around to scratch while hanging by its toenails.  The high temperature turned out to be a record breaker.  

 

Still very warm

The sky was much more hazy with clo7uts often covering the sun.  It was so warm that I dried my hair outside.  The dog had a good roll in the rue.  Bees and wasps kept the camellias buzzing.  One Polistes wasp rested on the seed feeder, a risky location, I thought.  

The clouds colored up for sunset which of course arrived an hour earlier than yesterday.  

Indian summer

Clouds streamed North on a hot wind making the sunshine intermittent but keeping the air warm.  I caught a squirrel doing a Tarzan leap, but not in mid-air as I'd hoped.  Maybe next time.  Later I caught a pair of squirrels having sex.  They went up the cedar for more privacy. 

A Carolina wren perched on a chair back to get a better look inside.  A kingfisher landed on a dock post but took off again immediately.  

I checked on the peppers but they were still green.  A ladybug beetle was protecting them.  The sunflower next to the peppers had made seeds, but after teasing them out of the flower heads I found almost all were hollow.  I don't know if they weren't fertilized or if the drought kept them from filling out.  Glass snails lurked in the mulch between the peppers and the sunflower.  

The grass on the West side of the house was full of gill mushrooms.  There were brown, gray, red, and moldy green caps.  I know the red ones were russulas and I suspect the others were too.  

A monarch butterfly came looking for a meal but the only flowers left were camellias and by afternoon the bees and wasps had drunk them dry.  The saltbush released its seed fluff which coated the creek.  But the milkweed kept its seed parachutes under wraps.  I couldn't figure out how the weather could be right for one kind of airborne seed and not the other.  

About then the camera battery ran down and the replacement wouldn't work.  So I missed some great shots of a bold jumping spider.  As I sat picking out the sunflower seeds, the spider came marching across the table to me.  We made eye contact and I tried to wave my pinkie at it.  It decided to jump onto the chair so I got up and let the spider have it.  But soon it was climbing up the wall and away.  I hope it caught the roach I saw lurking under the soffit.  After dark the camera quit sulking so I took some practice photos of a moth on the window.  

Then I went outside to see what I could do with the moon.  A bright planet was leading the moon up from the horizon.  I checked online and learned it was Mars.  "Later, by November 30, Mars will be closest to Earth for this 2-year period (50.6 million miles, or 81.4 million km, away). And Mars will continue to brighten between now and December 8, when Earth will catch up to Mars in the race of the planets around the sun, bringing Mars to its once-in-2-years opposition."   No wonder it was bright.  

 

Bees in the camellias

The day was sunny and warm though in the early morning everything was wet.  I only got outside when the dog insisted.  Yellow sassafras leaves contrasted with the blue sky reflected in the creek.  A couple of the birds' sunflower seeds germinated.  I doubt they would survive being potted but they won't survive outdoors.  Both honeybees and yellow jackets buzzed around the camellias.  I think I saw larger wasps as well.  A lone turtle basked on the lake.  

Nuthatch

The creek was a still mirror in the morning.  The female downy woodpecker returned to the suet.  She may eat the whole thing at this rate.  Wait, a chickadee got a beakfull.  A white breasted nuthatch visited the seed feeder.  

Reflection

Though sunny, it was not as warm and I needed a jacket.  The morning creek was full of reflections.  An occasional gust of air made leaves rain down.  The female downy came back to the suet.  Clouds gathered in the afternoon and the moon did its "ghostly galleon" impression.  

 

Damp

Some light rain fell in the morning so I don't understand why a storm sewer across the creek fountained like Old Faithful.  We're on a different set of pipes so it didn't affect us and it didn't last very long.  In fact, it's odd that I was in the right place at the right time to see it.  The rain had ended and it was quite warm so I was outside with the dog. 

I was also in the right place at the right time to see a monarch butterfly that I think was freshly emerged.  It was pumping its wings which they do to fully expand them.  and when it flew, it fluttered weakly before dropping down a few feet further away from me.  I hope it's not to late for the journey South. 

A kingfisher flew downstream and out of sight though I may have heard it later.  A great blue heron preened as it stood on one foot on a post.  A turtle watched ducks on the lake log.  There were brief glimmers of sunlight in the afternoon and a fiery sunset.  

Monster bug

For a day that was supposed to be gray and wet, there was a lot of sunshine and warmth.  A breeze felt nice and didn't disturb the reflections on the creek.  The tree colors were visibly further along but there was still plenty of green.  But the hibiscus lost almost all its leaves.  A berry-eating bird mooned me but I can't identify it from that angle.  Finally, a female downy woodpecker discovered the suet.  

I puttered around in the yard planting strawberries and pulling up oak seedlings.  Wasps were still active, especially yellow jackets enjoying the camellias.  I saw spider threads floating on the breeze, but not the spiders.  An egret stood on top of the bulkhead admiring its reflection.  

A bluebird watched from the top of the redwood.  First gulls, then swallows zipped across the sky too fast for my camera.  A mockingbird stayed hidden while eating dogwood berries till finally it forgot to be cautious.  The milkweed seeds stayed in their pods waiting for what to change in the weather?  Blue jays were still hunting acorns.  The red aster appeared to be finished flowering. 

While admiring the beautyberries, I spotted a huge insect that turned out to be a wheelbug.  I didn't recognize it at first because the abdomen was swollen.  Eggs?  The camera ran out of juice but the bug waited patiently till I came back with a fresh battery.  Then it slowly made its way onto a different leaf with twigs in the way.  

Rows of little cotton-fluff cumulus clouds replaced the cirrus wisps and ushered in a wall of solid overcast around 4pm.  After the tricker-treaters had gone home, I tried to take pictures of the first quarter moon through gaps in the overcast.  The photos were so bad I'm tempted to pass them off as Halloween ghosts. 

Nothing to report

 I didn't see any wildlife.  And the gray light didn't inspire.  

More birds

Clouds came and went and came back.  All I saw in the morning was blue jays streaking across the yard and two great blew herons that flew South over me and the dog.  But at lunch, a white breasted nuthatch wanted sunflower seeds.  So did many chickadees and a few titmice, cardinals, and house finches.  

The wind blew hard all day and the tide ran quite high.  Milkweed seeds emerged from the pod and began to fluff out.  The hackberry turned lemon yellow, a few cherry leaves were gold, and the hickory was toasted butterscotch.  Dogwood leaves reddened where they weren't crisped by the lack of rain.  Sweet gum leaves were getting red as well. 

A Carolina wren got away from me but not a song sparrow.  I think I saw a flicker because that's the only bird that's yellow on the underside of its wings.  It was banking into a left turn and going fast.  I caught a butterbutt and a mockingbird among the dogwood berries.  And then the battery gave up.  And when I swapped in the charged battery, the camera just wouldn't!  So I missed some shots at blue jays and the nuthatch, and finally gave up.  A couple hours later the camera was done sulking, but the birds were done too.  

Birds!

A great blue heron watched the tide rise into the yard, driven by the wind and moon.  I saw a kingfisher but it flew off before I could find an unobstructed view. 

A mockingbird and others to fast to identify worked on the dogwood in the front yard.  In the back, it seemed like there was a flock of woodpeckers, but perhaps there were only the sapsucker and the red belly I caught on tree trunks.  A blue jay, a brown thrasher that banged the window, and lots of smaller birds were silhouetted by the overcast sky.  

Dark cloud bands passed through but no rain fell.  Fall colors were dulled by the thick overcast.  A raft of leaf-meal and pine needles floated on the creek. 

Two egrets perched in the trees over the lake.  I was taking a picture of one when the other flew through the frame.  

Cold wind

The warmth didn't last.  A strong north wind cleared the sky but kept the sun from being effective.  A Carolina wren considered the barkbutter balls.  I took pictures of vegetation. 

Quite warm

Morning was foggy but I overslept and missed most of it.  The sun evaporated it and heated up mid day.  Five turtles basked.  I spent too long indoors in a meeting.  On my way home the sky was divided with overcast on the West and fair weather cumulus clouds on the East.  But at home the overcast won.  I heard birds but they hid.  A woodpecker rapped.  

More of the same

Rain was not predicted but I thought I felt sprinkles.  The regular seed eaters showed up.  I saw a brown headed nuthatch and a myrtle warbler on the seed feeder but they got away.  Another pepper ripened. 

A nearly frozen wasp clung to the wall of the house. 

Damp and gloomy

The day was cool and gray.  In the morning, a great blue heron huddled on the next door floating dock.  A squirrel gobbled dogwood berries.  Some dogwood berries started to shrivel and turn black, sort of like a raisin.  I worked a seed out of one of them for K. 

In the late afternoon, a gull was nibbling at something floating in the creek, probably a chunk of fish.  A late morning glory bloomed - late in the season and late in the day.  After the gull took off, six mallard drakes hung out together on the water.  I saw another on the lake log.  

Misty, moisty morning

We went to the Norfolk Botanical Garden and walked part way around Mirror Lake.  The lake was covered with aquatic vegetation which got in the way of reflections. Camellias were blooming and dripping.  I found an orchard spider with a really big web.  Pine needles were dangling from it.  

The camera battery died after I took pictures of the statue of one of the Black women who made the garden.  I brought a spare but the camera got fussy so I missed the bumblebee visiting the hellebore flowers.  It recovered when I spotted a mushroom.  On the way home we swung by the upper end of the lake.  Later, I saw a wood duck drake on the turtle log.  The mist became rain and settled in for the day.  And the temperature dropped. 

Myrtle warbler

Where did yesterday go?  There were pretty morning reflections, bossy cardinals and persistent chickadees, seeds and berries, and pink camellia flowers. 

In the morning I was part of a "Votercade" through a Norfolk 'fenceline community."  That is, a residential neighborhood that's just a fence away from industrial operations.  Some starlings posed for me.  It was quite a bit warmer and sunnier in Norfolk, or maybe it was just the time of day? 

At home, I could see birds flitting around in the dogwood but only one hesitated long enough for a photo.  First butterbutt of the season.  Mallards were thinking of Spring.  A lone turtle rested on the lake log.  A great blue heron flew downstream.  

Sunset was fiery pink and orange.  

Where are the birds?

 I saw nothing but cardinals and chickadees.  

Cold

Chickadees were busy at the seed feeder.  Nothing seemed interested in the suet.  

Chilly

It was sunny early, got cloudy, then cleared by sunset.  A rough patch on the creek seemed to cast a shadow.  I suppose it could have been that, or perhaps a school of fish created both?  One lone turtle climbed out on the log.  

Toward sunset I noticed the great blue heron on the neighbor's floating dock standing very tall.  It relaxed to preen a bit.  

Pool covered

I won't miss the waterlogged leaves, but I'm always sad to lose sight of the water.  In the late morning while the sun was shining, a pair of mallards got an early start on Spring.  It seemed to be her idea.  Intermittent rain became an impressive thunderstorm in the late afternoon.  

Reflecting on the end of Summer

Not as sunny and not quite as warm, the day was uneventful.  I got the last leaf reflections. 

After I showed K the sweet gum sapling, I took pictures of the ground-hugging rosette plants I wanted to identify.   A pokeberry was growing below the high tide line. 

A Carolina wren scolded from the saltbush.  The dog discovered that brackish water didn't taste right.  

Adventuring

The temperature got quite cool overnight, but by afternoon, it swung back into Summer - sunshine and shirtsleeves.  I got some decent photos of a southern purple mint moth Pyrausta laticlavia, the pretty villain attacking my rosemary.  Leaves fell one by one.  A ground beetle rode an oak leaf around the pool. 

I found the ebony spleenwort still growing through the fence.  And with that the battery died.  But I had taken forethought and brought the spare.  But the camera refused to work.  So there were no photos of the sweet gum seedling I found or another plant I hoped to identify.  So I went over to the dock to look at the fallen pine.  Despite checking each plank, one came loose and almost did me in.  When I got my breath back, I took a look at the sink.  It was plugged and full of water and a drowned rat.  I got the drain unclogged with a stick.  I hope all the water drained, but I didn't hang around to watch.  Maybe a buzzard will take care of the remains.  

By the time I got back up the hill, the camera decided to work again.  I got a quick shot of a pine warbler hiding behind a clump of beautyberries.  

Fall

I gave up on hummingbirds and switched the sugar-water feeder for a suet feeder.  Which the birds totally ignored all day!  The only wildlife I saw was indoors and shall remain nameless since I was able to shoo it back outside.  Well, I did see some squirrels.  And there were turtles.  It looked like the people who live between the creek and the lake had begun to cut down their oak.  It turned brown during the summer.  The eagle will miss perching there and I will miss its Spring leaf out.  Other trees were definitely showing fall colors, not just drought brown.  

Drizzle

The light was not good under the gray sky and yet we didn't get as much rain as I'd hoped.  Titmice came for seeds during a lull.  A female kingfisher rested on our dock bench.  I don't know if she saw me but she soon flew away. 

The sky began to clear around 5pm and a beam of sunlight ignited a spiderweb.   Because I was shooting through a window screen I got diffraction stars as well as iridescence.   

Wood ducks took over the turtle log on the lake.   A flock of Canada geese paddled downstream past mallard pairs dabbling for supper.  A great blue heron perched on a post to preen.  Sunset was very orange.  

Not much

I got up early and left before dawn.  I could see the moon ahead but didn't have a camera.  The day warmed during the meeting.  I watched from inside and outside but saw nothing but a buzzard.  I believe I heard a woodpecker grumbling and a mockingbird rehearsing its repertoire.  In the afternoon while running an errand, I saw a line of geese flying North.  I guess they were just practicing.  Overcast from the West slowly covered the sky through the afternoon.  The creek was quiet but didn't have much to reflect.   The saltbush bloomed. 

Beautiful weather

Something disturbed the crows but I got no photos except colored leaves and a drifting milkweed seed.  

Warmer

The moon was full overnight so I went out to see it.  At breakfast, the creek was a mirror for sun-painted trees.  Later it had a matte surface of tiny ripples.  The catbird was back hiding in the beautyberry bush again. I found a black swallowtail caterpillar on the rue.  A southern purple mint moth flitted around the steps.  I learned they are responsible for the webbing on the mountain mint.  The great blue heron was ready on the downstream dock to defend its position but there was no sign of the other heron.  

The duel of the docks

The dog insisted he had to go ooooooout and the next thing I knew he was barking like mad at the neighbor's yard.  And I, who had been about to shower, gathered up my hastily assumed robe and went to see who was being murdered.  I think he was offended by the neighbor's flag that cast running shadows as it flapped in the cold breeze. 

Later, a wren explored the vegetation around the patio, staying half hidden, but I'm pretty sure it was a house wren headed South.  The catbird was back for more beautyberries.  Blue jays hunted acorns.  

In the afternoon, I saw a great blue heron on the neighbor's dock displaying pride of ownership again.  Then I saw the other heron near the shore.  That one walked slowly toward me as though paying no attention to the other.  Then it flew up to a post, then down to our dock.  I suspect they were name-calling the whole time.  

Goldenrod bloomed on the earth dam that separates the lake from the creek.  Turtles were basking on their log.  The sun felt delightfully hot but any shadow was cold.  

Spotted birds

Thanks to the drop in temperature, there was a lot of activity in the beautyberry bush, the dogwoods, cherry, and hackberry.  A thrush and a catbird were busy eating beautyberries.  A mockingbird ate dogwood berries.  I think something was even after the redwood cones, but I'm not sure what species were working on the others.  And there was enough cold North wind that sometimes I couldn't be sure if the movement was bird or breeze.  I think the blue jays were after acorns.

A squirrel showed up with a warble, just when I thought they'd escaped that misery this year.  Nuthatches were loyal to the sunflower seeds.  A flicker flew from the closest dogwood across the pool to the cherry but I saw no sign of snacking.  Its pompom rump displayed in flight and its yellow shafted tail at rest.  And it was the second spotted bird I spotted. 

A great egret perched on a dock piling while two drakes and a female mallard dabbled.  Mysterious ring ripples popped out of nothing and spread across the creek.  I think the fallen pine shifted because it looked like more of it was on the dock.  A great blue heron landed on the neighbor's floating dock, claimed ownership, then went stalking downstream. 

The now moldy fungus looked sinister and skull-like - triceratops skull, that is.  Apparently the weather was right for milkweed seed dispersal.  I collected some.  The camellia opened its first flower.  The saltbush was frosted with feathery white flowers.  

Briefly hot

The sky was cloudless and the creek full of reflected color.  I noticed that the pine just slumped down but its roots did not pull out of the ground.  A heron spent a moment on the dock.  Goldenrod bloomed.  I sweated working on cleaning the pool.  I had optimistically put a swim suit on, but I was afraid to find out how cold the water was.  The moon was nearly full but not quite above the trees when I went back outside to check.  Already the temperature was falling so I didn't stay. 

Sunshine

 I missed most of a gorgeous day because a project was due.  

Herons

 Usually a great blue heron won't tolerate another but this time was different. 

A tree fell

And I didn't hear it.  It was the pine at the water's edge where the night heron liked to perch.  I think it was doomed because ordinary high tides had been inundating its roots.  But it fell toward the creek, so it was the landward side that let go.  

In other news, the rain was mostly drizzle and mist but it was cold.  We skipped from summer to winter or so it felt.  Birds came for seeds, including a brown headed nuthatch.  The hummer feeder was flooded and the barkbutter balls were flooded, so sunflower seeds were the only thing on the menu.  I could see flutters in the trees so maybe other birds were eating berries.  

Nasty North wind

Today's weather was worse than when Hurricane Ian passed by.  Schools were closed, the tide was higher, and it was a lot colder. The rain wasn't as heavy.  From the weather maps, it appeared that a high pressure center to the West and a low to the East were funneling the North wind directly down the long fetch of the Chesapeake Bay at us.  Wildlife mostly hid, though I suppose the wind may bring some migrant birds.

Gray

A yellow rose bloomed and the red aster put out more flowers.  The maple began to turn reddish orange. One dogwood was ahead of the others in turning fall color but they all were edged with dried out brown..  The fungus looked a bit moldy but maybe it was dispersing spores.  The creek was placid, contradicting the wind prediction.

The titmice were back, along with a nuthatch.  The overcast probably made the air cooler - it barely climbed above 70°.  Rain is supposed to return after dark and last into Wednesday.  A great blue heron used our dock as a fishing stand.  A great egret occupied the next dock downstream.  A buzzard circled low over the creek which disturbed the heron but not the egret. 

Ian's aftermath

The cloud cover was breaking up at breakfast, but despite shushing the humidity was at 95%.  It dropped as the temperature rose.  Titmice were distressed because the barkbutter was mush from the rain.  I think we got about three inches.  The tide was still running high.  It's amazing how much dust collected on the trees during our summer drought.  Along with berries and shredded leaves, there was a lot of dirt in the bottom of the pool.  I saw some insects swimming, but they were mostly on their own as I was busy cleaning.  I did rescue a lacewing and an assassin bug nymph, probably Zelus luridus.  

 

Wet and windy

Hurricane Ian had quite a reach and brought more rain in one day than we saw in two months.  I had thought surely the recent wind had stripped trees of dead leaves, but there were more.  Lots more.  The seed feeder regulars got some sustenance but I didn't see any other birds.  High tide flowed over the dock and warped boards.  Wind gusts blew spray into white sheets.  And it was really noisy.  

Northeaster

High tide flowed over the low end of the dock, pushed by the gusty Northeast wind.  Leaves, twigs, and lots of pine needles blew into the pool.  I emptied the skimmer at least three times, maybe four.  And a drowned skink got away from me and went down the pipe. 

Most wildlife was in hiding but I found a colorful green stinkbug nymph (Chinavia hilaris) on the mountain mint. Neighbors fished in the high water but I didn't see them catch anything. Geese huddled in the lee of the bank across the creek. 

Goldenrod bloomed and the saltbush showed white tips.  Fern fronds were lined with spores.  But the sky was gray on gray.  Towards evening, a great blue heron stood on the dock facing into the wind.  Even so, its feathers took a beating.  Up on the lake, an egret preened while cormorants watched.  They were much more sheltered by the ridge on the east side of the lake.  .  

The gloomy sky turned crimson at sunset, but I had just downloaded the day's photos and the camera refused for cooperate.  I missed the vivid reds behind the commuting cormorants and only got the pale lavender twilight. 

Pair of orioles

The temperature barely cleared 70°F despite bright sunshine and a Southwest wind.  That is, the thin clouds were slowly moving Northeast.  I did not try to swim but I did circle the pool to see if anything needed rescue.  Nada.  On my way, I saw a white breasted nuthatch on a tree and heard a woodpecker.  

Blue jays stayed up in the oaks.  The female oriole foraged in the bushes so I only got glimpses.  The male oriole and a mockingbird ate dogwood berries.  The "red" aster was exactly the same magenta as the beautyberries.  Brown headed nuthatches joined titmice and chickadees, and an occasional cardinal, at the seed feeder.  The white breasted nuthatch also made a couple of forays.  A dove wandered around the yard. 

It didn't feel humid and there was a breeze, so why all the mosquitoes?  Big, daytime mosquitoes with white stripes bit me hard when I went over to the fig tree to check on the peppers.  I picked a ripe one and saw three more that were green.  The sunflowers were making seeds. On the way back, I saw a sundog. 

Rafting skink

The morning creek was in a reflective mood. The dog seemed to appreciate the cooler air - he wanted to stay outside longer.  Something caught his attention and he dashed over to the oak.  Since it was daytime, I figure it was a squirrel that rejuvenated him.  

I finally got a chance at the pool mid afternoon.  (Afternoons rush past this time of year.)  The first thing I saw was a skink navigating on a yellow leaf.  A cricket, riding a different leaf, may have lured the skink into the water.  By the time I nerved myself for immersion in the chilly water, the skink had disembarked onto the top of the ladder.  But when I got close it dived.  I caught it and put it on the escape stick to dry out.  It stayed put so eventually I encouraged it to climb and it scampered off.  

While dripping off, I emptied the recycled-plastic birdhouse and only snapped off one tab, which I think is fixable.  I was sitting in a small patch of sun by the mountain mint and I saw an insect I didn't recognize.  It appeared to have transparent wings, a bright green thorax, and a skinny up-curled abdomen.  It looked a little smaller than an eastern amberwing and my first thought was a damselfly, but I could not really guess what order of insect it was before it flew away.  And the camera needed a fresh battery, so I don't have an image to search.  Later, during an early supper, a great egret fished along the bulkhead.  

Cold water

An outrageous squirrel sat right outside, on our furniture, eating a pecan off our tree, leaving pieces of hull and shell all over. Shameless!  The camera betrayed me when I tried to get pictures of a brown headed nuthatch.

When I went outside with the dog, I saw a blue dasher perched on a dried gladiolus stalk.  Between the gusty wind and the low humidity, it wasn't very welcoming weather for dragonflies.  A dark butterfly flitted around, probably a black swallowtail. 

I was tired of the mess Fiona left behind and I stayed in the pool till I got all the leaves out.  One leaf was a bullfrog.  Other than that, all I found were a few small wasps.  An egret flew upstream.  I found twigs with hackberries attached amongst the soggy leaves.  The red aster was beginning to get the hang of blooming and the sunflower decided to try again.  

Too busy

No swim and hardly any outdoor time.  If the dog had not insisted, I might not have gone outside at all.  And it was a beautiful day.  I took a picture of the fungus, the money plant seedpods, and dogwood berries. 

Chilly water

A cardinal started nibbling on beautyberries.  His slightly orange crimson was not harmoneous with the fuchsia berries.  I noticed that the dog apparently cannot roll over on his back. 

I tackled the mess in the pool though the water temperature had dropped considerably.  It was mostly vegetation but I saved a few wasps, crickets, beetles, and a honeybee.  A little frog that was hiding under the leaves in the skimmer hopped frantically away, bumping into things.  A red spotted purple fluttered over the water.  I got so cold after the pool was in shade that I gave up. 

Afterward, as I dripped and tried to warm up in the sun, a hummer flew right up to me and glared from about six inches away.  It had a few red feathers on its throat.  I concluded that the sugar water must have gone bad.  I wondered if the hummer had just arrived, helped along by Fiona's winds.  

Debris

The pool was full of leaves and other tree trash.  And the temperature was in the 60s so I tried to skim and scoop from outside the pool.  It would be much easier in the water.  The gusty wind kept wildlife grounded, I assume, because I didn't see much. The humidity was low, too.  Jets left no contrails.  A pine warbler came to the barkbutter dish.   A large ant clung to the window. 

Equinox

I woke up early and was outside in time to see the waning crescent moon precede sunrise.  

By afternoon, Fiona's storm clouds had eaten up the sky and the wind had grown very gusty, but it was still hot.  I tore a bit off the big fungus which was tough and leathery.  The underside looked sort of pore-like, but ragged. My best guess is Bondarzewia berkeleyi.  Something left a pile of what looked like cooked berries nearby.  

The clouds looked so threatening that I left the camera inside while I was in the pool.  Thus I took no pictures of the spider, beetles, frog, or skink that I retrieved from the water.  The wind had blown lots of leaves and detritus into the water.   Shortly after I got out, the rain started.  

Later, the clouds broke up.  I saw a heron and egrets on the creek. 

Summer's lease

By astronomical measure this was the last day of summer.  The first pod of butterfly milkweed seeds popped open.  Birds tugged dogwood berries off to eat and some leaves displayed real colors, not just drought brown.  The yellow rose opened two flowers and hinted at more.  A swirl of thin cloud reminded me that Hurricane Fiona was chugging North, but fortunately well out to sea. 

The nuthatches were hungry, both white breasted and brown headed.  Hummers thought the juice had passed its 'sell by' date, but investigated foliage on several plants.  Blue jays lurked and called.  A pine warbler wanted a barkbutter ball but was frustrated by a cardinal.

There were no skinks a-swimming today, just one live frog and one corpse.  I found a bright yellow squash bug on the mountain mint. It sidled away from me, flew to the shepherd's crook, then flew off.  Anasa repetita looks like the best match.  

 

Waning crescent moon

We had lunch outdoors, to the delight of the dog.  I could see the faint crescent moon descending into the trees.  Blue jays called back and forth, then three zoomed across the airspace above us.  A hummer kept an eye on us and the feeder.  

A tiger swallowtail landed on the beautyberry bush.  Later, I found a lethargic frog in the skimmer. Three skinks were swimming in the deep end.  I assisted them to escape.  I surprised another skink when I went into the garage to hang up my wet swim suit.  On the way home after dark I noticed a bright planet in the East.  

Caterpillar season

I've been finding drowned caterpillars and today there were several.  They've all been hairless and some combination of pale, greenish, reddish, and blackened. I don't know if the colors are the result of the pool water, but they don't look normal.  A frog was waiting for me, very listless, but it managed a hop when I put it outside the pool. Other than that, there were lots of leaves, mostly withered, and a very persistent mosquito that I think I drowned.

The sassafras started to show fall colors.  Hummer(s?) kept feeding all day but I didn't see any chasing so maybe it was just one.  By supper time, the bird was very round. 

Oriole!

In the early morning when the sunlight was still slanting, a brown headed nuthatch was frustrated by the steady stream of chickadees and titmice.  Several crows visited, but only one was agile enough to get to the barkbutter balls.

I saw a female Baltimore oriole so I rushed some jelly outside, but I didn't see it again.   Still, I suspect it was the bird with yellow tail feathers that I saw the other day.  It probably wanted suet but the hummer feeder is still occupying that hook.  And the hummers are still coming. 

A southern purple mint moth finally posed for me.  The markings were right but it was awfully orange instead of purple.  A few thread-waisted wasps searched for nectar on the mountain mint.  Paper wasps seemed to be hunting prey under leaves and ignoring flowers. 

I rescued two skinks but saw no frogs.  One skink was lurking in the entry to the skimmer and scampered right off.  I found the other while swimming in the deep end.  It was still active but tired and  cold, I think.  Anyway, when I put it down, it stayed still for so long that I worried that it had died,  But when I tried to pick it up, it came to life.  

Voter registration drive

We had a good day to be outside at NSU but the only wildlife I saw there was a flock of Canada geese. Despite the hot sun, when I got home the water and breeze were cool.  I rescued some wasps, carefully.  Then I caught two frogs and put them out, and I even wore a skink for a while. Their tiny claws are sharp!  

I also rescued a very small grasshopper-like critter with big red eyes.  It was no bigger than a grain of cooked rice but it appeared to have wings so I'm not sure if it was a nymph or what exactly.  It seemed to have only one hind jumping leg, which could explain its involuntary swim.  The saltbush was budding. 

Sunny, but cool

The hummers had not left us yet, unless these were migrants from further North.  Apparently some people locally were asking about taking feeders down for the winter. The fungus beside the oak has gotten huge. 

I got a couple of pictures of the orchard spider outside my West facing window, but I missed the moment when the web went iridescent in the sunlight.  To me, both the web and the spider look like they are made of glass.  The spider must be taking advantage of my late night lighted window.  

Molting goldfinch

It was a lovely day and I never even got a swim.  I finally found where the heron has been perching up in the neighbor's pine tree.  Meanwhile, a red spotted purple posed on dogwood and cherry leaves.  

A Carolina wren took a bark butter ball.  A brown headed nuthatch checked out the barkbutter balls, then went to the seed feeder where it ejected a titmouse twice its size.  

Soon a white breasted nuthatch appeared, then a male goldfinch.  The goldfinch drank water out of the ant moat but ignored the seed feeder.  He was molting and looked disheveled.  When he finally left, a hummer swooped in.

Nuthatches

I was marveling at how the demographics of the yard have changed.  The only nuthatches I used to see were the red breasted winter migrants that only came some years.  This year all summer there have been brown headed and white breasted nuthatches.  I'm not sure why the yard attracted them. 

Anyway, the nuthatches and the other seed eaters were all squabbling when something spooked them all.  One bird that flew away had a bright yellow feather on each side of its fanned out tail.  I have no idea what it was.  

Meanwhile, the hummers told me to replace their juice.  For once they hadn't finished it off which made me suspicious.  Sure enough, the remainder in the refrigerator had gone moldy.  So I had to make fresh and the hummers got very impatient. 

A frog in the skimmer was very persistent about getting into the water.  I caught it and sent it away but it probably returned after I went indoors.  

 

Bright sun

The tide was still running high.  In addition to a black swallowtail I chased with the camera, I saw a monarch, a red spotted purple, a cabbage white, a cloudless sulphur, a fiery skipper, and a southern purple mint moth.  A Carolina wren looked like it had lost its tail.  Brown headed nuthatches kept the feeder busy.  Hummers found their sugar water objectionable. 

Five frogs crowded into the skimmer and then led me on a chase all over the pool.  Drought-withered leaves blew into the water faster than I could catch them.  Still I managed to rescue a skink, a leatherwing beetle, numerous black ground beetles, and a wheelbug.  The wheelbug looked thoroughly drowned, but I left it in the sun and it soon recovered.  

Neem oil appeared to have cured the aphid infestation on the milkweed.  The fungus was still swelling.  A few carpenter bees and threadwaisted wasps continued to visit the mountain mint.  Peppers were growing next to the figs and the sunflower looked healthy. 

I walked around to see the orchard spider outside my window.  It was very hard to focus on a tiny object in mid air.  Later I got better pictures form inside, even through the screen.  The sun made the web glitter and the spider looked like it was made of green glass. 

A great blue heron occupied a piling in the late afternoon sun.  A yellow crowned night heron perched on the neighbor's dock.  Strangely, the wispy cirrus clouds appeared to be lower than the passing cumulus. 

Beautyberries

A white breasted nuthatch had a lot of competition from titmice.  A tattered black swallowtail hung around much of the day.  A spiderweb outside my window turned prismatic in the sunshine but the window screen added some odd effects.  Beautyberries turned red but seemed small to me.  I found a seed pod on the hibiscus! 

There were two frogs in the skimmer.  The larger was spotted and the smaller was another of the ones I think are cricket frogs.  There was a green frog on the top step of the ladder but when it saw me it hopped out instead of into the water.  I wonder if it experienced my previous evictions.  A skink scuttled across the patio but the door wouldn't open.  (Luckily for the skink!)