Northeaster

Wind from the Northeast piled high tide over the dock and wrenched a board off.  Tree shreds littered the ground and clogged the water.  Seed eaters ventured out during lulls.  A little rain fell, enough to streak the glass.  The temperature was definitely Fall-like.  

 

Summer's lease

In Sonnet 18 Shakespeare wrote, "And summer’s lease hath all too short a date" which always comes to my mind at the autumnal equinox which occurs a little after 8pm here which is 1am Wednesday at the prime meridian.  Today was mostly cloudy, warm, and intermittently breezy.  I swam in the late morning and rescued two ground beetles and a two-lined spittlebug,  Afterward as I dripped, the sun found a rent in the cloud cover.  I saw a dark butterfly that never alighted and a Southern purple mint moth that posed.  A small skink flowed down the step.  Chickadees and house finches visited the seed feeder.  A squirrel had an itch.  In addition to the beautyberries, dogwood berries and hackberries were ripe and waiting for migrating birds.   

Clouding over

I got outside in the late morning and caught the last of the sun.  Two black ground beetles and a stupid field cricket were all I found in the water.  The cricked jumped back in twice before it finally went the other way.  The romance had gone out of the cardinals' relationship and he made her wait to eat.  I saw a dark butterfly several times but couldn't be sure what it was..  There was also a dark skipper, much smaller.  

 

Waxing gibbous

The bullfrog was buried in the leaves that had collected in the skimmer.  When I pulled it out, the frog jumped out and landed on the hot concrete and kept hopping.  More leaves were floating and one, to my disgust, was being ridden by a two inch mulch roach.  The only other rescue was a small dark moth.  I got photos of none of these.  After dark, I took a few pictures of the moon which was past the first quarter and 67% illuminated.  

Hot sun

Thinking that the sun would be less intense this close to the equinox, I didn't wait for shade.  The larger bullfrog awaited me in the skimmer.  It acted lethargic but eventually it hopped off my palm and into the water.  I didn't see it again.   A skink rafted on a sinking leaf and I assisted it onto a rescue stick so it could have the satisfaction of saving itself.  A field cricket was also rafting so I set its leaf raft on the concrete.  I also fished out a couple of black ground beetles and a mint moth.  Something tickled my back and after brushing it off  my skin, I saw it was a very tiny spider.  The long-haired yellow cat sneaked past while I was swimming and I yelled at it.  An egret flew behind the trees and something that might have been a kite soared in the hazy blue sky.  The seed eaters were all I saw at the feeders.  Squirrels were busy up in the trees.  The only photos I got were plants.  

Too busy

Yesterday I didn't get outside till very late.  There was a dead frog in the water.  One monarch caterpillar was still feeding.  Today I was a little earlier but all I found swimming was one black ground beetle.  Neither I nor a paper wasp could find any caterpillars.  A few mint moths flitted around the milkweed.  The Berkley's polypore appeared fully developed.  The beautyberries were ripe.  One milkweed pod had opened.  

Caterpillar hunter

Both the air and water had cooled though the sun was warm.  I fished a few beetles out of the water and chased off a frog.  One foolish monarch caterpillar ate all the green pod enclosing immature milkweed seeds.  I was thinking that it was "eating the seed corn" when I notices a more immediate danger.  A Guinea paper wasp was hunting caterpillars around the milkweed.  They chew up caterpillars and other soft insects and feed the mash to the grubs in their paper nest.  The monarch caterpillar had created a big sign that it was nearby.  I saw a couple of other monarch caterpillars that were sticking to leaves.  

Crabby

In the late afternoon, the sky was very deep blue.  The water was full of tree detritus, leaves, pine needles, chewed acorns, cherry stems,  cedar sprigs, and old catkins.  I found one of the black swallowtail caterpillars drowned.  I also found a little fiddler crab with a body no bigger than my thumbnail.  It pinched my palm hard enough to leave tiny punctures, and it left its big claw fastened to me.  I nevertheless released it to hike back downhill to the shoreline.  An ant rescued itself by crawling up my back and took a lot of persuading to leave me alone.  At least two monarch caterpillars were still feeding and, unlike the other critters, were willing to pose.  And that was all I saw.  

 

Gale

I found five monarch caterpillars.  One was determined to eat a pod instead of a leaf.  I moved it and it found another pod.  A squirrel with a pecan paused before climbing the maple.  A hummer made frequent feeder visits.  She intimidated a downy.  The wind filled the water with debris almost faster than I could collect it.  Lots of pine needles and leaves damaged by lack of rain kept blowing down.  The frog awaited me under the skimmer lid.  Later, I caught a frog but it didn't look like it was the same one.  There were more beetles in the water.  

Waves of rain

All day, rain alternated with periods of sun but the sunshine never lasted long enough to dry surfaces.  I swam in the late morning and got rained on.  Distant thunder made me a bit nervous.  The frog was under the skimmer lid again, and dived again.  After I cleaned the pool, I lifted it out onto the patio and it hopped into the vegetation.   Several beetles were swimming and a green June beetle had climbed out via a rescue twig propped on the pool ladder.  Other wildlife stayed under cover from the rain that at times came down hard, but I did see one sulphur butterfly during a lull.  This is not a stream, it's water on the patio reflecting vegetation.  

 

Steamy

A thunderstorm arrived at midnight with bright flashes.  It brought a needed soaking rain but also stifling humidity.  I wonder if it diluted the hummingbird juice because I didn't see any of them.  The dragonfly nymph appeared to have died in the night.  The frog was back in the skimmer again and eluded me again. I rescued a paper wasp that was swimming hard and a yellow jacket that may have drowned.

A few butterflies flew across the yard but only a cabbage white was identifiable.  A Carolina wren was hungry.  A skink was cautious.  It might have been the one I rescued yesterday.  I found four monarch caterpillars on the milkweed.  A couple of black swallowtail caterpillars ate parsley stalks.  A drizzle began in the late afternoon and the sky darkened early.  

Dragonfly nymph

I found the monarch caterpillar again and it was growing fast and dumping fress.  A couple of black swallowtail caterpillars ate parsley stems.  A small sulphur butterfly alighted briefly.  I also saw a red spotted purple. When I went for a very late swim, there was a bigger frog with a green jaw under the lid of the skimmer.  It jumped down into the basket full of leaves so I let it stew there for a while.  When I lifted the basket to empty it, the frog jumped into the pool.  I saw it a couple more times but then it disappeared so I think it must have jumped out.  Just in case, I checked the skimmer again and here came a young skink swimming out,  I carried it out onto the patio and took photos.  

I also encountered a dragonfly nymph, perhaps the same one I've seen before.  This time it obligingly clung to the side of the pool steps where I could photograph it.  A kingfisher landed on one of the pilings but didn't stay long.  The Berkley's polypore looked bigger. The hibiscus bloomed again.  The beautyberries were colorful.  A lot of cloud cover and a North wind kept the temperature down but the air was humid.  

 

Caterpillars

I did not see the infant monarch caterpillar today, perhaps because there were no flowers left to eat.  The black swallowtail caterpillars wandered in search of more parsley.  I found one on the pool ladder.  I also found a floating leaf with a passenger, a pale yellow looper caterpillar.  Some snout butterflies flitted around the dogwood.  A buzzard patrolled the hazy sky.  The Carolina birds - chickadee and wren - visited the feeders.  A hummer rejected its feeder and I could see the sugar water was growing mold.  A great blue heron landed on the channel marker.  A female cardinal wanted a bedtime snack.  

Hot sun

Today got a lot warmer.  There were clouds and some haze but mostly sunshine.  My morning was taken up with meeting the mayor.  After lunch, I sat outside and saw a blue dasher dragonfly and a damselfly landed by my foot.  Some butterflies did not cooperate but I found a tiny caterpillar on the milkweed.  Caterpillars were deserting the parsley because it was all eaten.  I went swimming after 4pm for shade.  A small frog let me lift it out onto the pavement.  I also rescued two wasps, a spider, and a May beetle.  Hummers visited the feeders.  I saw two skinks.  One climbed the cedar tree and the other climbed the retaining wall.  An egret landed by the dock.  

Fall-like

The air was cooler and breezy.  Passing clouds blocked some sun warmth.  A hummer fed and that was about all the birds.  Southern purple mint moths made an appearance.  

Chases

The hibiscus bloomed like a firecracker for Labor Day and the weather was perfect.  Between the drought and the recent yo-yo temperatures, leaves looked burnt, not just autumnal.  The parsley was overrun with caterpillars.  A strange little plant with pink flowers popped up beside the birdbath.  The tentative ID was swamp loosestrife.  

This skink chased another across the steps.  One hummer chased another multiple times to protect her feeder.  I chased a small frog and sent it out of the pool.  Alas, I also found a drowned skink, a dead frog, and a couple of soggy crickets.  I did save a beetle.  A Carolina wren preened on a dogwood branch but too many twigs were in the way for the camera to focus.

Lovely day

Rain from last night filled the birdbath and ruined the bird food.  The sun was fierce but the temperature was mild, in fact cool in the shade with a breeze.  In between clouds. the sky was sharply blue.  The larger frog was waiting for me in the skimmer.  It hopped away and I did not see it again.  In fact, I didn't see much wildlife at all.  Dark butterflies explored and swallowtail caterpillars ate.  

I found another drowned caterpillar that I couldn't identify.  A sweat bee needed rescue.  A millipede walked over my foot.  Titmice visited along with the regular seed eaters.  A hummer was very thirsty.  I heard cicadas, a blue jay, a goldfinch, and something that sang "turnip, turnip."  High clouds were blown South while lower ones came in from the East.  Eventually the wind shifted to Northeast  The polypore looked pristine.  

Changeable weather

Morning was quite mellow, cooler and sunny.  I found a bullfrog sitting under the skimmer lid.  It hopped into the pool and I ignored it while cleaning.  Eventually I found it trying to jump out and gave it a lift.  A bit later, I saw a frog hopping along, then ducking into the vegetation.  I thought it was the same one, but eventually it came out beside the ladder and I could see it was only half the size of the other one.  An assassin bug needed rescue.  Buzzards kept watch on high.  There might have been an osprey as well.  

After lunch, the sky was overcast.  I rescued a worm for the hot pavement.  Then I saw a threadwaisted wasp and a hairstreak.  Two bumblebees rolled around together. I don't know for sure why, but it is the time of year for mating.  A distressed Carolina wren landed on the feeder and immediately flew away.  I had heard it fussing up in the pine.  I took a close look at the polypore and found a cicada carcass.  Then a sprinkle began so I hurried into the house.  A thunderstorm ensued but by 3:30pm the sun was back.  

Steamy

The weather was beastly again, hot and humid.  At least there was a little breeze late in the day.  Another hibiscus flower opened and I saw a bud.  Fearing the green-eyed fly, I put off swimming until late afternoon.  A disgustingly dead frog floated in the water.  A larger live frog hopped out when it saw me.  They are trainable!  I didn't see anything else and I didn't get bit.  Buzzards soared while I dripped.  Beautyberries ripened.  A small plant produced a spray of pink flowers.  Squirrels played under the oak while the polypore fattened.  

Butterflies

A downy joined the seed eaters at breakfast.  A male cardinal was molting ugly and a female had lost her crest.  The day got very hot and humid and quite unpleasant.  A black swallowtail nectared on the milkweed.  Hummers were thirsty.  A variegated fritillary also fed on milkweed flowers.  The camera fogged from the humidity.  I saw nothing at all in the water.