Catbird

At breakfast, a catbird found the beautyberries and had a feast.  The creek was glassy and full of color in the bright sunlight.  At lunch, some guys K hired cut down two dogwood trees because they had some dead limbs.  My heart hurts.  Flotillas of geese passed by on the creek at supper.  A fat or pregnant gray cat sauntered through the backyard at supper.  

More birds

Yesterday's thunderstorm brought little water but did moderate the temperature.  A Carolina wren inspected the cinquefoil for anything tasty.  Mockingbirds continued to harvest wild cherries.  A section of the oldest dogwood appeared to be dying. It looked fine all through Spring and early Summer.  Another section died a few years ago.  The mountain mint was stressed by the drought but seems to be recovering.  

The pool yielded nothing but scarab beetles, roaches, and itty-bitty wasps/bees/ants.  A fresh load of cherries were sunk on the bottom.  I did evict one spider.  A duskywing joined the bees ans wasps on the mountain mint.   One funny, little bee did its best to intimidate me.  I found the Argiope which was quite cleverly camouflaged as a stem.  The orchard spider was in the same place as before but the light was wrong to see the web.  A female hummer visited that feeder.  

Then a male pine warbler considered the hanging dishes.  The brown thrasher returned for more cherries.  A white breasted nuthatch was frustrated by a house finch.  Then when it finally got on the feeder perch, a chickadee landed on top of it and the finch attacked them both.  

Steaming creek

I think the water was warmer than the air at sunrise.  My breath smoked too, when I went out with bird food.  A Carolina wren tackled the suet.  A myrtle warbler sat on the seed feeder perch but ignored the seeds.  It doesn't really have the right kind of beak for seeds.  On the ground beneath, a song sparrow hunted fallen seeds.  The song sparrow didn't get along with the white throats.  A pine warbler showed up, the first in some time.  But the myrtle warbler got to the barkbutter balls.  Dogwood buds popped open.  

The male red bellied woodpecker peeked around the post and chose seeds.   Blue jays were faithful to the barkbutter balls.  Bluebirds wanted them too but were willing to eat seeds.  The male oriole was still here, polishing off some jelly.  A white throated sparrow took a turn with the barkbutter balls.  A starling wanted suet.  Then a brown thrasher argued with starlings over the barkbutter balls and mealworms.  Sunshine spangled the starlings.  

Northeaster

I skipped yesterday because it was gloomy and windy and damp and lacking in wildlife.  Today was about the same with higher tides and a few of the usual birds - cardinals, chickadees, geese.  There were some flickers of sun before noon but mostly there was drizzle.  A flood warning will last into tomorrow, courtesy of what was briefly Tropical Storm Jerry.  Somewhere along the way we also had Karen named and dissipated.  Anyway, they left us with a wind from the Northeast to push water into the estuaries.  

Caterpillars

Thin, high clouds reduced the warmth of the sun and the breeze felt cold.  I found one missing spider.  It had just moved upward a couple of feet.  The Argiope by the rosebush enlarged its web.  I occurred to me that for several weeks I haven't seen any of the mama spiders that walk on water.  Nor have I seen much in the way of web-building spiders except these yellow garden spiders.  All five monarch caterpillars and one black swallowtail caterpillar were still present.  The monarchs were still eating but the swallowtail was motionless.  The chrysalis had not yet opened.  

Between the dogwood and the beautyberry there was plenty for birds to eat but I didn't see any doing so.  In fact, the only birds I noticed were two flying fast upstream as they glinted silver in the sunlight.  I don't know what they were.  My only water rescue was an assassin bug nymph.  Two red spotted purples hung around the pool.  

 

Chilly

By lunch, a white sky dimmed the sun and the breeze came in chilly gusts.  The caterpillars were all still present and I located the three Argiope spiders, though one had moved up to the wall above the door which seemed like an odd place to hang out.  It also seemed strange that the monarch caterpillars chewed on the milkweed pods which I'd think would be tougher than leaves, not to mention needful for future generations of caterpillars.  

I found a defunct cicada afloat.  The millipede, Oxidus gracili, from yesterday was definitely a goner.  On the other hand, I rescued another millipede, an isopod, a wasp, a small brown spider, and four pale green assassin bugs, two of which were quite lively.  The other two were tangled together and I moved them near one that was recovering.  It scuttled over to investigate, and possibly cannibalize!  A red spotted purple briefly danced over the water.  Dogwood leaves began to lose their chlorophyll.  Beautyberries turned magenta.  A Carolina wren hid behind rose thorns.  I startled a young skink.  This has been a memorably dry August.  Rainfall was only 1.6" and the average is 5.8" though I'm sure that includes some hurricanes.  

Sunshine, at last

At breakfast, a Carolina wren was eager to get started on the suet.  In addition to turning cherry and dogwood leaves, I saw red dogwood berries.  The weather ups and downs have confused some plants, I think.  The sky today was a clear, strong blue and the sun felt intense.  A white breasted nuthatch sampled the suet before returning to the seeds.  A brown headed nuthatch followed on the seed feeder.  A goldfinch watched but only had some water.  The wren returned with a friend.  

I saw three butterflies, a monarch, a tiger swallowtail, and what I thought was a red spotted purple.  A fig beetle was rafting on pine needles and a mama spider on a sinking leaf so I rescued them.  I saw something zoom in and out of the sunlight that might have been a cicada killer.  The mountain mint stopped blooming so there were few bees or wasps. The butterfly milkweed, on the other hand, was lush with no sign of caterpillars or other insects, and only one small seedpod.

 

High wind

Another hot and hazy, sunny day was alleviated by strong winds.  The dogwood blossoms were done, even the curly mutant flowers, and the wind sent petals skipping.  The male pine floweres had fallen to the ground.  A starling picked at barkbutter crumbs.  A blue jay thought about it.  A Carolina wren ate suet, then checked on the barkbutter dish.  A red bellied woodpecker also wanted suet.  I saw a downy and a pileated but didn't rush for the camera.  

I planted moonflower seeds that I'd carefully nicked and soaked - fingers crossed.  While I was outside, a very red-faced skink wondered if I was safe to approach.  Flying insects caught the sunllight and I hoped they were dragonflies.  One may have been a ladybug.  Bluebirds came for seeds.  

Very warm

A Carolina wren visited early and often.  A titmouse sampled the suet.  A myrtle warbler foraged with the white throats.  It was molting and looked disheveled.  The song sparrow visited again.  A dove hung around for much of the day. 

It would have been hot except for the wind.  More of the orange and white jonquils opened during the day.  Pollen left bathtub rings on the pool cover.  The dogwoods on the North edge of the patio started to open. 

Vernal equinox

I notice the NWS said, "There are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a "nearly" equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes."  That "nearly" could explain why today's sunrise was 7:09am and sunset 7:17pm, 12 hours and 8 minutes.  The sky was hazy and streaky but the creek shone.  A male oriole spread orange gorgeousness as he ate suet.  A male bluebird flaunted both blue and orange.  A brown headed nuthatch took its seed to the roof to hatch.  Blue jays found the barkbutter balls.  One jay argued with a bigger bird, maybe the osprey?  

A heron groomed its feathers on a dock piling.  Signs of Spring included dogwood and oak flower buds opening.  Even blueberry flower buds got bigger.  Daffodils recovered from the storm.  The Carolina jessamine smelled lovely to me and the bumblebees. 

New bird

A mockingbird came for a wake-up drink from the ant moat.  An Orthoptera nymph (grasshopper/cricket/katydid) wandered around the window.  I based my guess on its hefty thighs.  A monarch wandered around the yard, noticing the milkweed but not stopping.  Maybe it just needed nectar and we lacked flowers.  As a result, I was lucky to get an orange blur.  I also saw a cabbage white, a duskywing, and a dark butterfly, either a red spotted purple or a black swallowtail.  Small wasps or flies and a Guinea paper wasp hunted through the overgrown, gone-to-seed plants. 

The dogwood berries tempted more birds than the barkbutter balls.  Even the juvenile cardinal tried the berries.  However, a mockingbird preferred beautyberries.  I saw a Carolina wren in the dogwood but it was preening, not eating.  A dove foraged under the seed feeder.  Then I saw a bird that was new to me. I took many pictures as it ate many dogwood berries.  According to iNaturalist, it was a rose breasted grosbeak in winter drab. 

A leaf that must have gotten caught in a web fluttered very convincingly and I wasted many pixels.  Some kind of insect had nibbled a bigger leaf into the shape of a smaller which left a lot of stem to snag.  Clouds blew in from the Northeast but only briefly interrupted the sunshine.  Down at ground level the air was warm with a light breeze.  In the late afternoon, the kingfisher returned to a dock post.  A female mallard slept on the back of the bench. 

Buggy

A couple of seedling sunflowers popped up.  The hibiscus put on a real show with six flowers.  The fungus under the oak was visibly bigger.  The canna was blooming as though inspired by the nearby hibiscus.   Only two seedpods survived on the stripped butterfly milkweed.  Some dogwood leaves turned red or yellow, marking approaching Fall.

Although the monarch caterpillars departed, the black swallowtail caterpillars were visible all over the rue.  I rescued two blue tailed skinks from the water and evicted a frog.  I was too late for a bumblebee.  A glass snail floated on the surface but I put it out of the water too.  A busy honeybee was one of the few insects on the mountain mint.  The spiders hadn't moved since yesterday. A mosquito followed me into the house and feasted as I took off my wet suit. 

Bluebirds came for seeds.  A brown thrasher slipped into the mountain mint stalks.  The red bellied woodpecker was back.  Blue jays were happy about the barkbutter balls.  

 

Warmer

We had goldfinches for breakfast again.  The hibiscus continued to bloom and a rose bloomed too.  A scattering of leaves on one dogwood turned fall colors.  I had a mid day event which cut into my outdoor time.  On the way there and back I saw lots of dragonflies riding the asphalt thermals.  Some buzzards were doing the same only much higher.  

As soon as I got home I went straight into the pool.  I rescued a camel cricket and a fig beetle.  There was a frog but it mostly hid from me.  A blue dasher perched, waiting for its dinner to fly by.  Many black swallowtail caterpillars at all stages nibbled rue leaves.  I wonder if rue makes them taste bad the way milkweed does for monarchs?  The monarch caterpillars seemed fewer and bigger.  The wandering Argiope was still too close for comfort.  

A hummingbird kept watch over its feeder from a dead dogwood twig.  At supper, a yellow crowned night heron swooped onto a redwood branch.  A mockingbird checked for leftover barkbutter balls.  The goldfinches were frustrated by a miserly house finch. 

Hot day

Morning was windy so we had pelicans.  One azalea bush began blooming.  Oak, maple, and dogwood were blooming while the wild cherry put out leaves.  A couple of cabbage whites flitted around egging leaves.  A patch of leucojum bloomed.  I had hoped to be rid of it. 

The temperature was 79° at lunch.  I spotted a song sparrow on a branch, then a white throat on another.  A paper wasp gnawed on an old bamboo stake.  Starlings demolished the suet and fought with each other for the privilege.  A couple of turtles enjoyed the warmth.  I had expected more of them to be basking.  By 6pm rain had begun falling.

Hot and cold

Yesterday was very warm - over 80°.  But I saw nothing.  Today, under a gray sky, the temperature dropped steadily and the wind gained strength.  The directionless light made the dogwood leaves quite crimson and the sassafras golden.  Fluff from the saltbushes blew everywhere.  The maple tree lost more than half its leaves.  A titmouse visited the barkbutter dish.  

Autumn chill

The creek glowed at dawn.  Lots of clouds kept the temperature down, or maybe it was the North wind that shoved them along.  I saw a few wasps.  Birds harvested dogwood berries but they were hard to see.  Titmice and chickadees kept the sunflower feeder busy.  There were cardinals too, and the downy was back.  The black cat sat by the pool cover until the dog noticed, then there was a mad dash around the back of the house.  As I drove to a meeting, the sun (when it wasn't blinding motorists) focused golden beams on the underside of a massive cloud.  But I didn't have the camera or a good place to stop.  It was dark when I came home with a bright planet, probably Jupiter, rising in the East and clouds visible from reflected lights.  

More of the same

A gust of rain blew through in the morning but otherwise it was just gray.  Turning dogwood leaves seemed to have less yellow and more red.  Chickadees and cardinals came for seeds.  Mallards paddled past.  Something snatched at dogwood berries but stayed hidden.  

Gloomy

I seem to remember that after a tropical storm we would have beautiful weather for a while.  Not this year.  A dank North wind brought overcast and drizzle.  The chill did make birds hungry.  A mockingbird snatched an early barkbutter breakfast.  Blue jays followed and might have been why the mockingbird was in a hurry.  The cardinal clan went for seeds mostly.  Chickadees and titmice were after seeds too.  A Carolina wren perched on a chair arm.  A couple of doves marched around the lower patio.  The mockingbird returned for dogwood berries.  I spotted a squirrel with an acorn.  Down by the creek, the saltbush was showing white tips.  

Hot sun, cool breeze

The sky was intensely blue.  A Carolina wren gleaned crumbs for breakfast, reminding me to refill the hanging dishes.  The male juvie cardinal looked almost adult.  Only his beak gave him away.  Another male fledgling was still doing the feed-me shake.  

The aster put out a late blossom.  Dogwood berries looked ripe.  So dis some of the beautyberry clusters.  A cabbage white seemed interested in morning glory leaves.  Bumblebees joined wasps on the mountain mint.  I found the remains of a black swallowtail in the remains of a web.  Another flitted around the rue.  The monarch caterpillar seemed a little fatter.  I found a drowned cicada but this one was only half the size of the one I found last week.  It was quite green too.  A fuzzy yellow caterpillar climbed the side of the pool and disappeared.  I think it was a yellow woolybear, Spilosoma virginica. 

I saw several blue tailed skinks including one I rescued from the pool.  I thought I saw two frogs in the water but one turned out to be the skink.  The lizard seemed to be following the frog around and even climbed on top once.  After I put the skink out on the nice hot concrete, I evicted the frog as well.  But then it or another appeared back in the water. 

Blue jays feasted on acorns and weren't very interested in the feeders.  Two red bellied woodpeckers landed on the maple trunk but quickly sidled out of sight.  A mockingbird also hid in the leaves.  White breasted nuthatches were brave enough to get seeds while I was outside.  

Seeds

There were starlings hanging around every time I looked so I never put any food out.  Of course there was the suet and the sunflower seed feeder.  The brown headed nuthatch was happy with those.  Blue jays, titmice, warblers, a robin, and other birds appeared to be eating oak flowers or maybe catching bugs.  I saw a junco foraging under the seed feeder.  The day was cooler, cloudy, and not so breezy.  

A myrtle warbler preened in the dogwood while waiting to defend the suet.  The pileated woodpecker returned and the warbler decided to retreat.  A downy woodpecker felt the same.  When the pileated flew away, he landed on a tree trunk opposite a squirrel.  The downy hustled back to the suet only to find a starling had got there first.  

A couple of doves wandered around the patio.  Bluebirds were not pleased with the lack of barkbutter balls.  The dog was feeling enough recovered to wander around the yard.  A white throated sparrow emerged from under an azalea bush.  The one dogwood once again made puzzle boxes of its petals.  The domestic cherry burst into bloom!  I begain planting seeds because rain is predicted for overnight.