Hummingbirds

The wild blue morning glories were blooming when I replaced the low-hanging hummer feeder.  When I went for a morning swim, three frogs awaited me but two hopped away and only one dove into the water.  I caught and released it on land too.  A black swallowtail egged the gone-to-seed parsley and a dragonfly flew fast over the water while I swam.  I found a tiny, pretty beetle afloat but it never revived.  It was about the size of a ladybug but not so round.  iNaturalist identified it as a shield-backed cryptocephalus, Cryptocephalus mutabilis.

A hummer came to the little feeder but did not stay long.  Maybe rainwater diluted it?  A tiny orb web hung between the feeder and the post.  Later, a hummer visited the 3-hole feeder and still later, two hummers argued about it.  

As I dripped dry, I noticed ridges in the clouds coming from the Southwest.  They were perpendicular to the wind direction, sort of like ocean waves.  They're classified as altostratus undulatus clouds.  A red spotted purple rested on a dogwood branch.  A little skink followed the edge of the concrete to cross the patio but on the way back it took a shortcut.  A downy woodpecker hung below a branch it was hammering in the section of the dogwood that lost its bark and died.  A titmouse fussed because I was too close to the seed feeder.  

 

Time outside

Morning was cloudy.  I spotted a morning glory flower.  A brown thrasher was an early visitor.  A female cardinal was beginning to lose head feathers and a male fledgling was getting orange, but with a black beak.  A female goldfinch was thirsty.  The molt-ragged Carolina wren had a barkbutter ball.  

Carrying the can of bug killer, I went swimming earlier than usual and found three frogs.  I evicted them but after I got out, they hopped back into the water.  A big, all-black bee was swimming frantically and I assisted it onto dry concrete.  Wind gusts tossed leaves into the water.   I put some peanut bits on the patio for the crow but a squirrel ate them.  The crow may have given up on us.  

After lunch, I went back outside.  There was more sun but a breeze and the shade made the heat endurable.  A blue dasher stood guard.  I saw two other dragonflies, one dark and the other yellowish, but I didn't get pictures to ID.   A hummer had a long feed before she saw something that sent her away.  Sometime later I spotted her preening on a dead twig in the dogwood.

A well-grown skink crossed the steps and later rain under my chair.  Its tail was not original but was full length.  A few wasps and bees and a duskywing skipper fed on the mountain mint.  A big dark butterfly never alighted and I couldn't guess if it was a red spotted purple or some kind of swallowtail.  A skipper with some orange joined the mountain mint crew.  

Gorgeous day

An early Carolina wren enjoyed suet.  I hung fresh sugar water in case the North wind blew any hummingbirds into migration, but I didn't see any.  Then I poured out some barkbutter balls since no rain was forecast.  Titmice were thick on the feeders, along with the usual three species.  A downy hung under the suet which cast diamond-pattern shadows on its belly.  A blue jay finally noticed the barkbutter balls in the afternoon.  

The wind off Hurricane Erin was still strong and, together with the dark of the moon, the tide ran very high.  It pulled up dock boards and capsized the floating end section.  A yellow crowned night heron paced along the shoreline.  The sky was a sharp, clear blue without a hint of haze.  I rescued a young skink that had lost the tip of its tail.  While there was plenty of tree detritus in the water, the only other animal was a field cricket.  A larger, older skink soaked up sun on the top step.  

A 5th instar brown marmorated stinkbug nymph Halyomorpha halys crawled on a morning glory vine.  Speaking of which, the morning glories were starting to bloom.  While I was outside filling feeders, I caught the early sunlight on the Argiope web.  The smaller Argiope was transitioning to adult coloring.  A monarch found the butterfly milkweed.   I counted a dozen green seedpods at all stages but I couldn't find the monarch caterpillars.  Instead, I saw a big, fat black swallowtail caterpillar on the rue.  It looked full grown but was more orange than green.  The third Argiope had a new web too.  I imagine the wind cluttered the previous one, if it didn't tear it down.  I saw a dark butterfly and a snout but they got away.  

Autumn chill

A Carolina wren got away without a picture.  Nuthatches were more cooperative.  Brown headed came in the morning and white breasted in the afternoon.  Blue jays flew across the yard to eat acorns. The North wind shoved clouds across the sky and made the sun come and go.  It shone hot but the wind was chilly.  Dogwood berries were mostly eaten but next Spring's buds stood up proud.  Morning glory seed pods looked ripe.  The saltbush began shedding seed fluff.  

The last milkweed pod opened and seeds rode the wind over the house.  When I looked at photos of the milkweed pod, I saw what might be a caterpillar on a leaf in the background.  A red spotted purple evaded me but its iridescence gave it away.  It shone as bright as a tropical blue morpho. 

Very froggy

Defying the meteorologists, the sun shone brightly until late afternoon. The creek glowed in reflected dawn light.  Pale blue morning glories peeped out of the vegetation.  It was breezier and not as warm as I would have liked.  The creek overflowed the dock again and flooded our "living shoreline."  After lunch, a yellow crowned night heron hunted along the edge of the flood.  All it found while I watched was some plastic debris.  

The black cat had a good roll in the sun but it didn't stay long.  I decided to get in the water but first I surveyed for frogs and saw three.  Two were sitting on the rescue stick while the third was riding the thermometer.   When I emptied the skimmer I found a fourth.  It appeared overinflated and it seemed lethargic which worried me.  The two on the stick were bigger than the other two.  I caught the frogs and put them outside but I think they jumped back in as soon as I left. 

I glimpsed a few butterflies but not to identify.  A mockingbird flew out of the beautyberry bush while I was in the water.  A few wasps looked for flowers on the mountain mint.  Soaring birds circled very high up.  A downy woodpecker had some seeds and some barkbutter balls.  Brown headed nuthatches stuck with seeds.  Unfortunately, clouds moved in while I was trying to drip dry and I got chilled. 

Too cool

The day was full of sunshine but barely got to 73. A titmouse was being cute at breakfast.  Two brown headed nuthatches shared the feeder.  Light blue morning glories dotted the vegetation.  Blue jays visited the barkbutter dish.  We replaced the empty hummer feeder and a hummer was soon slurping it up.  The monarch caterpillar was a little bigger.  Toward evening, a heron stalked along the shoreline.  I saw the ripples first before the bird.  I caught a hummer in flight too.  The saltbush was thinking about getting ready to bloom.  

Windy

A strong, cold wind out of the Northeast shoved clouds across the sky.  It blew the feathers backwards on birds.  The sun was bright but the temperature was only in the 70s.  Morning glories bloomed and there was another hibiscus flower, and two buds..  The wind filled the spiderweb with redwood needles and suchlike tree trash.  It batted at the spider but the Argiope still managed to catch a meal.  I noticed the spider had switched to the outside of the web where it was less likely to get banged into the window.

The hummer was hungry and protective of her feeder.  A brown headed nuthatch slipped between finches and cardinals more successfully than a chickadee. After I put out barkbutter balls, I saw a mockingbird and a blue jay and glimpsed a sparrow that might have been one of the chipping sparrows.  The wind kept me out of the water.  I could see a frog in the pool, maybe wondering why I wasn't chasing it.  Unfortunately, the wind blew down more leaves and pine needles to clog the skimmer.  

A monarch butterfly fought the wind but didn't alight on the butterfly milkweed.  Maybe that means it was a male?  A couple of snouts dueled in the air but perched where I couldn't see.  A female Horace's duskywing perched on a morning glory leaf.  Sunset turned clouds orange.

Busy day

The brown thrasher was back for more delicious barkbutter but K forgot to remove the cover.  Problem solved, happy bird.  Brown headed nuthatches had to deal with chickadees and house finches.  They were both sneaky and bold.  I put out the last of a batch of hummer juice and made a fresh batch.  The hummers were satisfied.  A Carolina wren wanted barkbutter balls and then so did a female bluebird.  The molting mockingbird watched.  Actually, I saw at least three mockingbirds hanging around.  The male bluebird headed for seeds.  Birds were also eating dogwood berries and green acorns.  

The Argiope on the window switched sides on the web.  Now it can keep an eye or four on us.  I noticed it could move quite fast when something encountered the web.  A spotted cucumber beetle Diabrotica undecimpunctata occupied the yellow rose.  Caterpillars continued to eat rue.  A tiger swallowtail and a red spotted purple eluded the camera but a cabbage white posed.  A fussy wasp circled the mountain mint.  When I swam in the morning the only thing I rescued was a two-lined spittlebug. In the afternoon, I noticed a frog on the top step of the ladder. 

Several morning glories bloomed.  There were no hibiscus flowers but two buds waiting for tomorrow.  I detached a fragment of the big fungus to confirm its spore distribution system.  As expected, the underside was covered with pores    A gill mushroom poked up through the dirt nearby.  The canna was covered with blooms.  A volunteer sunflower made a bud. 

A female goldfinch took a turn at the seed feeder and the male came to watch.  Soon he had to join her but then she flew off with him in pursuit.  A blue jay settled into the dogwood while others flew hither and yon.   A white breasted nuthatch was too wary of me to get a seed.  I went inside and a female red bellied woodpecker took over the feeder. 

Two frogs

A Carolina wren was up for breakfast.  The male fledgling cardinal foraged beneath.  His beak was beginning to turn orange.  The molting blue jay got some breakfast too.  Blue morning glories bloomed all over.  

Passing clouds kept the sun bearable while I swam.  An unfortunate skink required disposal.  Not one, but two, green frogs played hide and seek with me.  I caught both but one just hopped right back in.  Last I saw, it was perched on a stick.  Wasps and honeybees, a black swallowtail and a sulphur were the only insects I saw.  Oh, I rescued a cricket.  Hummers were around but not cooperating.  I did get glimpses of live skinks too.  

Towhee

Today's early bird was a mockingbird.  Morning glories bloomed profusely, maybe in response to the cooler temperature.  But there was a hibiscus blossom as well.  The air was very crisp and clear, thanks to the Northeast wind caused by Idalia spinning out at sea.  The bald blue jay came back.  A second mockingbird arrived and didn't want to wait for the blue jay.  

A new visitor foraged in the mulch - a fledgling towhee.  Towhees became scarce here in recent years.  I blame the feral cats.  Bluebirds fed on the remains of the barkbutter balls, mostly dust.  A female goldfinch went to the seed feeder.  The boss hummer watched from the wild cherry.  A Carolina wren hunted for fallen mealworms.  One of the fledgling cardinals took over the mulch from the towhee.  

It was a good day for butterflies.  I saw skippers, a snout, a summer azure, a tiger swallowtail, and a very cooperative buckeye. Honeybees competed with the buckeye for mountain mint nectar.   A skinklet roamed the patio and I fished two more out of the pool.  I evicted a green frog and it hopped right back in.  I very carefully rescued a thread-waisted wasp that flew off immediately.  Late in the day, I thought I spotted a cruising twelve spotted skimmer, but it was just a glimpse. 

Gulls and cormorants flew overhead,  An egret flew up to our shoreline and later downstream.  There was a lot of activity in the tree canopy but the only bird I caught was a red bellied woodpecker, a female I think.  A pine warbler dined on mealworms.  I saw both a white breasted and a brown headed nuthatch coming for sunflower seeds.  

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.  

Nuthatches

There were brief times of sun in an otherwise gray and windy day.  A monarch managed to fly where she wanted despite the gusts.  I assume the butterfly was female because it appeared to lay eggs. 

A mud dauber wasp nest inside the seed feeder fell down and looked like an unshelled peanut in the seed dispenser.  A caterpillar hunting wasp lurked around the butterfly milkweed and the hibiscus.  And a skink almost caught it. 

Nuthatches, both brown headed and white breasted, flocked to the seed feeder but a cardinal wasn't entertaining guests.  Hummers continued to guzzle and fight. 

A canna stalk bloomed.  The conk fungus grew a rim, engulfed some sticks and no longer looked like a bun.  The fungus that attacks morning glory leaves was spreading fast.  

The wind became a Northeaster, pushing the creek over the dock as twilight faded.  That was also roughly high tide.  There are still three days till the full moon, but combined with the wind, the tide filled the creek to the brim.  And, surprise, a green heron was watching the water on the dock! 

Monarch

While hummers were still very active, I believe they were all female.   Another hibiscus flower bloomed and I found a strawberry!  The beautyberries were beginning to turn reddish.   A bumblebee crawled into morning glory flowers that were already folding inward.  The sunflower by the fig made a second blossom.  Peppers were growing too.  

I rescued two skinks and a frog.  The monarch butterfly visited the butterfly milkweed and earnestly decorated it with eggs, I think.  One is visible on a leaf just above the butterfly.  Duskywings continued to feed on the mountain mint.

Nothing much to report

Placid water at breakfast and slanting sunlight.  Hummers were hungry.  I was busy for most of the day.  And the lawn mowing may have scared the critters.  Each day I think I'm looking at the last flower on the hibiscus, and then I find another bud.  The morning glory has imitated kudzu, but at least it has pretty flowers.  There were skippers on the mountain mint, also a great golden digger wasp.  

Bald birds

The morning sun was reflected by the creek.  I saw the first morning glory blossom and the hibiscus was still blooming.  A male hummer got a drink.  A female looked very much the worse for wear. 

A bald blue jay visited the barkbutter balls.  The white breasted nuthatch came for sunflower seeds.  A female cardinal was also going bald and in a very bad mood.  She would not share the seed feeder perch with any other bird. The nuthatch must have been watching closely because it slipped in whenever she left.  

The red bellied woodpecker was too shy to get anything to eat.  Dogwood berries were nearly ripe and the hackberry berries were more abundant than in other years. A mockingbird picked hackberries.  I got caught up in some work and never made it outside.  

Outside

Morning glories caught the early sun.  The creek was a dusty mirror.  A milkweed pod opened but the fluff snagged on the spiderweb remnants.  The beautyberries turned brilliant fuchsia.  

The temperature was lovely so I sneaked out to get some fresh air - first time in nine days.  The variety of bees and wasps was much reduced.  The Argiope egg case looked like a ball of amber. 

The purslane was still a riot of orange.  And the rose kept chugging out blossoms.  I spotted a skink.  

Bright flowers

 The hibiscus bloomed again, red amid the pale blue of morning glories.  

Chilly breeze

Two inches of rain fell yesterday.  Morning glories and a hibiscus bloomed.  Two of the spiders were in the same places, but not the one closest to my window.  The pool skimmer was packed with leaves and FOUR frogs.  After I finished cleaning the pool, a couple of wrens came for suet while I huddled in a towel.  

When the dog was out for his final time before bed, K found a garden spider at the corner of the door.  I wondered if it was the missing third spider but investigation will wait for tomorrow.  

Birdfull

A brown thrasher showed up for breakfast but the bark butter ball dish was empty.  I refilled it but it was empty again at lunch and I never saw who emptied it.  However there seemed to be a lot of crows hanging around.  The new moon tide ran high, but against the wind. 

At lunch, two pine warblers visited the suet.  A house finch lay in the sunflower seed trough to frustrate the little birds.  A white throated sparrow poked through the waste hulls beneath.  I've only seen a tan morph so it may be the same bird.  Robins cavorted up in the cherry trees.  A Carolina wren had a turn at the suet.  

There were fresh flowers on the paperwhite.  I found a morning glory still blooming in the late afternoon in the middle of November.  The fungus looked about the same.  

It was sunnier in the morning while I was stuck in a meeting. The afternoon got overcast, then cleared somewhat.  Clouds made a fierce orange sunset.  

Cloudy

The rabbit ate a lot of the morning glory vines but not the ones closest to the patio.  The first blue flowers opened.  The monarch chrysalis seemed to be doing OK.  A daylily rebloomed.  Lots of little brown parasols poked up in the grass. 

 A hummer came for lunch.  A foolish skinklet climed the feeder post, just begging to become a meal.  Finally it seemed to realize this was not a good place to be and came back down much faster.  Why do the best moments always come when I cannot get a photo?  At lunch, when my hands were sticky with barbeque sauce, blue jays were hitting the bark butter and a brown thrasher slipped in.  The jays weren't having that, but then they squabbled over which one was next.  Then a red bellied woodpecker tried to get a bite.  And then they all disappeared.

Bees and wasps seemed well fed on the mountain mint, but two monarch caterpillars ran out of milkweed.  The black swallowtail caterpillars had enough food but may have been more palatable to predators.  A goldfinch wanted a drink.  Then Carolina wrens came for bark butter, one of them very disheveled.  I'm not sure if it was a juvenile or a molting adult, but the other did not appear to be molting.  A couple of squirrels flirted.