Beautiful blue bee

K put some peanuts out for the crow but the sqyuirrels got them.  Because an afternoon thunderstorm was possible, I picked figs in the morning.  It was buggy and sweaty, but I got a lot.  Afterward the cool water felt so good.  I caught four frogs, I think.  That is, I know I caught one twice because I saw it jump in again, but it is possible there were more repeaters.  I wish they would eat the mosquitoes!  I did see a couple of dragonflies on patrol.  

A metallic glint in the water caught my notice and I rescued a bright blue bee.  It was about a half centimeter in length and all blue-green with black wings.  It walked politely on my fingers but I didn't try to carry it up to the house for the camera.  There were also several big green June beetles and one ladybug.  Also a drowned brown stinkbug.  A monarch butterfly found the milkweed irresistible.  I saw a Guinea paper wasp hunting around the milkweed and wondered if it would take monarch caterpillars as I saw no sign of them.  

I did see the usual bees and wasps and a tiny yellow spider that had caught a tiny black wasp that was nevertheless too big for it.  A strange spider appeared to have taken over the Argiope web.  It was smaller than the Argiope had been but I wonder if it preyed on spiders.  Bluebirds visited the barkbutter balls.  The thunderstorm never materialized.  

Evidence of a mantis

The hibiscus set some more buds and opened one.  One of the benefits of a pool is that it catches things you'd never notice otherwise.  Today it caught the shed exoskeleton of a young praying mantis. Of course the water also caught the usual complement of scarab beetles and small wasps.  A lacewing had drowned.  I caught a frog and bid it depart before it became "dearly departed."  

A female great blue skimmer hunted from a garden stake.  Later a blue dasher did the same.  I thought I saw a yellow butterfly, but it was a goldfinch.  A mockingbird visited the barkbutter balls but got away from the camera.   I found two of the monarch caterpillars on the milkweed.  Bees and wasps went about their business on the mountain mint.  

 

De gustibus non est disputandum

I caught two frogs this morning but neither offered to eat the mosquito that was bugging me.  I also, gingerly, fished out some small wasps.  Something has been eating green dogwood berries and dropping bits around the skimmer.  K refilled the seed feeder, changed the ant moat water, and took down the suet cage.  We could hang a second hummer feeder but that has to be changed a lot more often than suet and I'm no longer surefooted enough.  As I came dripping up the steps, I saw a small monarch caterpillar on the butterfly milkweed.  Looking closer, I found three more.  They seemed to prefer eating flowers instead of leaves.  I suppose that could be because their mouths are still small and the petals are thinner.  Or, maybe there is some advantage to stopping the milkweed from blooming?  A robber fly lurked on the railing.  The Argiope was missing again.  

 

Pleasant

Sunshine was reflected by the quiet creek.  K put peanuts for the crow but two squirrels squabbled over them till they were all gone.  Titmice came early for seeds.  Then, at lunch, a mockingbird was determined to get barkbutter balls, even while K was outside at the grill.  A bumblebee staggered across the patio - too much mountain mint?  I saw hummers at the feeder several times throughout the day.  Also, a monarch and a tiger swallowtail flitted past but only the fiery skippers posed.  

In the afternoon, fluffy cumulus blew past from the WNW.   A skink lay on the step wall mostly in the shade.  I discovered that the Argiope was not missing.  It had simply moved to the other side of its web.  A hummer guarded the feeder from an old hibiscus stalk.  A robber fly and a lacewing did not revive after I fished them out of the water.  I twice caught a frog but I think it was the same frog.  

 

Sunny

The sky was hazy with fuzzy cumulus coming from the West.  It was a little too warm and humid to be pleasant, unless in a swimsuit.  I caught three frogs and sent them away.  One seemed to be in poor shape so I carried it to the birdbath in the hope that rainwater would wash off the pool chemicals.  Other than that, there were beetles.  On the mountain mint there were the usual bees and wasps and a skipper.  A Yellow-legged Mud-dauber Wasp found something interesting in the patio surface.  Some other wasps and bees were acting oddly too.  

I saw an orange butterfly (monarch?) and a yellow (tiger swallowtail?), neither of which cooperated.  Little skinks teased the camera.  I could not find the Argiope.  A great egret rested on the dock.  A very high-flying bird might have been a swallow.  A mockingbird looked grumpy from molting.  It dined on barkbutter balls.  

Cloudy

I planted the seed from the daylily pod before swimming.  The water was full of beetles and frogs.  I lost count of the beetles but there were three frogs, one dead, one that was none too lively, and one that seemed OK.  Of course there was a mosquito.  Back on terra firma I found the Argiope doing well, bees and wasps enjoying the mountain mint and milkweed.  A fiery skipper preferred the mountain mint even though it would have been camouflaged on the milkweed.  Then I noticed a common whitetail dragonfly on the top of the retaining wall.  A little later, a skimmer claimed the garden stake.  A skink crept out of the vegetation over by the hummer feeder.  Chickadees came for seeds despite my presence, but other birds stayed away.

In the front yard, a rainlily popped up at the end of the dry creek bed.   And a second crop of fairy ring mushrooms appeared like mourners around the spot where the oak died from emerald ash borers.  We got a tornado warning after dark but we didn't get any high winds here.  

 

Tiger, tiger, beetle bright

Rain was predicted so I got outside early.  The mountain mint was busy with bees and wasps.  I wanted to see the camera trap and also to collect a seedpod from one of the daylilies so I walked around the pool.  Frog legs were sticking out from under the coping. Then the frog noticed me and dived.  Slowly, without moving, it drifted back to the surface, but I was waiting.  

I found another in the skimmer and two while I was swimming.  I also found a damselfly that I fear was beyond revival and a metallic green tiger beetle that did revive.  The pair of Carolina wrens visited the dish feeders.  A light rain started right after I came inside.  It didn't amount to much but the day was mostly gloomy from then on.

First frog

The sun was back and the North wind blew fluffy clouds across a blue sky.  Naturally that kept the temperature lower.  Despite all the recent rain, July was still below average and the year five inches below - 21" to 26".  Two hummers were attracted to the hibiscus blossom and the feeder, so one chased the other and neither fed.  Squirrel hanky-panky shook the cherry tree.  I saw a tiger swallowtail and a blue dasher and, of course, bees and wasps.  A great blue heron sat on a piling and a gull flew past.  Magnified by its shadow, a tiny skink crossed the wall of the house.  

The Argiope was still in the azalea and getting to look more adult.  Later when there was some shade, I worked on cleaning the tree scraps out of the water, There were lots of beetles, ants, a drowned stinkbug, and I rescued a small wasp.  Mosquitoes were annoying.  I saw something larger floating in the deep end and thought at first it might be a big moth on its back.  Instead, it was a small frog, right side up and arms spread wide.  It was fairly naive and I had no trouble evicting it.  I'd have liked to have kept it around to eat mosquitoes but I worried that the pool chemicals would poison it.  

Afterward, as I dripped and watched the bees and a skipper in the milkweed, a hummer joined them.  She also sampled the mountain mint.  Alas, she was far too close for the camera to focus.  When she flew off, I turned around and surprised another skink that darted under the azalea.  A fledgling cardinal lurked in the dogwood.  

Dank

The hibiscus picked a poor day to bloom.  Rain slowly turned into drizzle.  The air was cool and damp and still.  Chickadees and titmice and occasional cardinals came for seeds.  The dish feeders stayed covered.  A hummingbird cussed out a chickadee.  The hummer visited both the milkweed and its feeder throughout the day.  A great blue heron landed up in the trees with a raspy honk.  A parade of squirrels leapt between the redwood and the hickory.  Some squirrels fed on either the immature seeds or the flower buds in the dogwood.  The Argiope was still hanging out in the azalea, but no sign of the orchard spider.  I didn't see any insects.  

Camera trap

The rain really lowered temperatures.  Apparently, it also caused the orchard spider to disappear.  Instead, I found an Argiope in the azalea and a messy funnel web in the camellia.  A skipper joined the bees and wasps.  Female slaty skimmer and blue dasher dragonflies kept watch.  A tiger swallowtail sailed around the trees.  A hummer discovered that I'd put out fresh sugar water.  A Carolina wren was hard to see in the dogwood.  

In the afternoon, a guy from the gray fox research project showed up to place a camera trap.  After reading about the project, I had filled out their form inviting them to do so.  The last time I saw a fox in the yard was before COVID, but we can hope.  The pool water was full of beetles and tree trash.  All week, I'd been seeing hackberry leaves attached to shattered galls.  Today an intact one was floating so I fetched it out for a photo.  There were actually two different galls by two different species of Pachypsylla, psyllids, a large brown ball and a small green nipple.   A widow skimmer stood guard on a garden stake.  The day was mostly sunny with a breeze from the Northeast that felt chilly on wet skin.  I saw a swallow flying but wasn't fast enough with the camera.  A heron watched me from atop a piling.  

De-tree-tus

The rain finally stopped mid day.  It had reached flood stage in the pool.  And when I went for a late afternoon swim, leaves and seeds and needles and less identifiable tree trash were afloat or sunk to the bottom.  All I saw was May beetles and a pesky mosquito.  There was no sign of the orchard spider and the mountain mint had few visitors.  And there were no photos.

More rain

The hibiscus bloomed and a titmouse came for breakfast.  A hummer fed from the milkweed and the feeder. At lunch, the sun came out and a tiny skink appeared.  The squirrel raided the seed feeder again.  A skipper drank mountain mint nectar.  

Hornets

I got a swim but not much else on a day full of disruption.  Many beetles were also swimming and there were lots of leaves in the water.  One insect was kicking up tiny waves so I approached it carefully with a twig.  It was a bald faced hornet and after some preening it took off.  I found another afloat that was clearly dead.  I've no idea where they might be nesting.  bees and wasps enjoyed the mountain mint.  

 

Dragonfly rescue

Yesterday's rain filled the birdbath.  A hummer visited the milkweed again and then moved on to the feeder.  As I started to get into the water I was attacked by a tabinid fly.  I retreated and came back with bug spray.  When it came for me again, I gave it a dose.  I didn't see it after that but swimming was kind of stressful.  When I started to clean the skimmer, I found a dragonfly afloat and fished it out.  I assumed it was dead but it slowly revived and flew away after a couple of hours, around the time the rain started.  iNaturalist suggested it was a Two-striped Forceptail Aphylla williamsoni.  Other than that, there were just a few beetles swimming.  

A tiny skink emerged from the step wall.  It was so small that at first I thought it was a worm.  The orchard spider and the bees and wasps on the mountain mint were about the same.  K decided to pick figs despite them being rain-soaked and got quite a haul.

Figs

In the morning, the sun spotlighted the orchard spider.  I checked out the fig trees because I wondered about the effects of the drought.  They were ripening and then drying right on the branches.  Neither birds not insects seemed to have paid them much attention, though something I couldn't see was moving around in the higher foliage. And I startled a large insect in a nearby (not fig) bush.  My picking was well-timed as rain fell in the afternoon and evening.  Probably the ripe figs I couldn't reach will rot.  

Judging from paw prints and sand, a raccoon had been washing its supper on the pool step.  My only rescues from the water were a couple of beetles and a spider.  I saw egrets flying and a blue jay that may have been headed for the figs.  A skink came out and basked on the step.  During lunch we saw a hummer visit the milkweed and a palamedes swallowtail fly quickly across the patio.  Titmice squabbled over the feeder.  

Wind shift

The wind swung around to the Southwest which cleared the air, but heated it.  I got my swim in the morning.  Several May beetles needed rescue.  I also fished out drowned camel and field crickets and a big mulch roach.  A small brown diamond clung to the wall.  When I touched it with a twig, legs popped out and it transformed into a spider..  (Always use a twig!)  Bees and wasps worked on the milkweed and mountain mint.  The orchard spider worked on its  web.  A late daylily bloomed behind where the primroses had been.  I fear it's getting too little sunlight there.  There was a hibiscue blossom as well.  

Smoke

Code red air quality alert issued in Hampton Roads due to wildfires.  The wildfires are more than a thousand miles away but the thick haze was very apparent beginning yesterday.  While I couldn't smell anything, I coughed and my eyes felt irritated while I was outside.  A widow skimmer stood guard on one of the perches but something bit me anyway.  I rescued a brown click beetle that had wedged itself into a crevice and would have starved or fallen into the water.  A mama spider hid behind a stick I had placed to help insects crawl out of the water.  I also fished out an acorn weevil.  

A hummer got a good, long drink.  There seemed to be fewer bees and wasps on the mountain mint today.  The orchard spider's web was a mess but the spider seemed fine.  The drought had leaves turning.  

Arthropoda

I got in a nice, early swim which was fortunate for a crane fly, a tiny moth, camel and field cricket nymphs, and a big May beetle.  A larger moth and a robber fly were, alas, defunct.  I did not rescue a Japanese beetle.  More interesting insects feasted on the mountain mint and the butterfly milkweed.  The green bee was back along with several other kinds of small bee.  A feather-legged scoliid wasp joined the thread-waisted wasps.  A Macrosiagon dimidiata beetle also fed there.  The orchard spider prospered but I fear the Argiope must have been eaten.  

The fallen cherries were fewer but instead there were hackberry leaves with what looked like shattered galls.  The beautyberry was finished blooming and was making little green berries. Two blossoms opened on the hibiscus.  As I ate supper, I could see a dragonfly in each stake, except when they dashed after prey.  The blue dasher took the shorter stake and the slaty skimmer the larger.   I took that as testimony that it was buggy outside.  Besides, it was very hot and we are at the edge of the smoke hazard from Canadian wildfires.  

Green bee

I thought I would have no pictures today, but then I saw a little green bee at work on the butterfly milkweed.  The orchard spider was still in roughly the same spot.  There wasn't anything of interest in the water.  The usual bees and wasps fed on the mountain mint.  A hummer visited the feeder and K fed the crow.  

 

Ultraviolet sky

The sun burned in a clear ultra-blue sky, but a breeze from the North kept the temperature pleasant. The squirrel Einstein was back.  A tiger swallowtail stayed a flit ahead of the camera.  A cabbage white was more willing to pose.  A hummer visited the milkweed.  Its feeder was dry so I put out fresh but I don't know if it noticed.  Chickadees and titmice were very busy at the seed feeder.  A titmouse that was molting looked very untidy.  

I had a mixed-up schedule that put me in the water with little shade.  A few beetles needed rescue.  A dragonfly zigzagged inches above the water.  Meanwhile, the bees and wasps made drama on the mountain mint.  Thread-waisted wasps were mating.  The common whitetail zoomed across the patio and out of sight.  All was well with the orchard spider but I couldn't see the Argiope.