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.