Warm and windy

The afternoon was in the low 70s under a clear sky, but the wind thrashed the leaves off trees.  The only birds were ducks and when I looked closely, they were all mallards.  On my way home from a meeting, the moon rose big and round as the sunset after glow faded on the opposite side of the sky.  I waited an hour for the moon to clear the trees, then went out with the camera.  Two planets were bright, Jupiter high and South, Venus low in the West.  The wind drove tattered clouds across them and the moon.  I found a new website for identifying planets. 

Gale

Another one of those pesky jet stream loops arrived with high winds that dried up what rain fell overnight.  The National Weather Service said, "South winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph expected." There was more rain around 8:30am, but not as much as I'd like.  The only bird that ventured out to the feeder was a cardinal.  A few gulls played with the gusts over the creek. Later in the morning we got more of a soaking. The rain was very directional - only the South side of the oak got wet. 

As we ate lunch I saw a Carolina wren and the bluebird pair. A damselfly bumped along the window.  Crane flies and bumblebees clung to shelter.  The wind made waves on the creek flow downstream even though the tide was rising.  A streak of debris and trash followed the wind's direction. 

Around 2pm the sun was visible through the overcast.  Low clouds blew past from Southwest to Northeast.  I was outside to drive off starlings before they gobbled up all the suet.  A blue jay and a downy woodpecker scolded me.  Trees thrashed in the scary wind gusts.  And by 3pm the clouds were patchy with stretches of blue between.

The wind finally slacked off in the late, sunny afternoon.  Remarkably, it was still room temperature outdoors at dusk.  Venus shown brilliantly above the pines on the West side of the house.

High tide

The creek was as smooth as glass despite the very high tide.  The brown thrasher appeared to be addicted to the suet.   The bluebirds seemed very fond of bark butter balls.  The junco was willing to eat anything.  A Carolina wren appeared more curious than hungry.   The male red bellied woodpecker wanted suet.  So did starlings. 

An osprey cruised overhead, scanning for fish.  The molting myrtle warbler poked around.  A wasp enjoyed rue flowers. 

The night sky was clear so I took pictures of Venus and the moon.  They were no longer together.- Venus was sinking toward the trees in the West while the moon was still behind trees in the East.    

High winds

Low tide looked like high and high tide was a flood.  And this was the first quarter phase of the moon when it and the sun are at cross purposes for tidal attraction.

A heron stalked around the dock. Two pairs of bluebirds came to the feeders when there were lulls in the wind and rain.

The sky cleared in the afternoon.  When I went out to close the seed feeder at dusk, Venus was bright in the West, but there was too much light to make out the Pleiades. The moon was further away, almost overhead.  

Hot day

Woodpeckers showed up first.  An egret fished in what looked like a strong current  below the dam.  Rain fell overnight, but not that much. I saw a junco foraging for fallen suet, but it got away. 

I went out to plant seeds and discovered it was much hotter than predicted.  The cherry that grew from a pit was blossoming.  Maybe this year I'll get a cherry?   The rusty disease reappeared on the red cedar.  The coral honeysuckle was loaded with flowers.  Among the money plants, now flowering, I found several rosettes of Small-flower Hawk's-Beard Crepis pulchra, I think.  It's non-native and not very "pulchra" to my eyes.  The dogwood by the pool steps made puzzle-boxes of its petals again. 

The turtle log was full under the hot sun.  Bees and wasps were busy.  I saw a cabbage white and a sulphur.  And I managed to catch a jumping spider with the camera.

The crescent moon was accompanied by Venus and a couple of cormorants.

Chilly sunshine

After a cold front roared through at midnight, morning was bright and crisp and washed clean.  The creek looked rumpled all day.  Hoodies fished in the early sunlight.  Geese above the bulkhead watched.  The day got quite windy. 

The possessive myrtle warbler was up early protecting the suet.  But soon the downy woodpeckers took over.  A white throat prospected under the bark butter balls.  There are drain holes in the hanging dipper-shaped cup that I swapped for the glass dish.  So fragments might sift down.  The Carolina wrens were very much present all day.  One perched in the dogwood.  The other snatched a bark butter ball and carried it off to the grill where it scooted underneath.  

When I went out at dusk to brick the sunflower feeder, The crescent moon and Venus were brilliant together. 

Dull morning

It is overcast and there's no wind, but it is warmer.  K said there were chickadees waiting at the feeder when she un-bricked it, but I haven't seen any birds yet.

I did see some as I was rushing out.  Then the next outdoor glimpse I got was sunset, by which time the clouds had broken up.  I saw Venus again in the Southwest - I noticed it Tuesday.