Sunny

Blue jays enjoying the bird bath.

Cloud puffs make sun come and go

A robin enjoyed the birdbath. I tried to photograph the bird preening afterward, but the lag on the digital camera defeated me.

A tiger swallowtail flitted past. The clouds are getting thicker.

Clear and cool

Sunshine is back.

Maybe rain?

The sun came in sideways at first but now it has gone dark and windy. The paulownia tree never really bloomed much - just a few lower branches. I conclude that the winter froze all the buds I can see higher on the tree. Bulb blossoms were also sparse this year, likewise the back yard azaleas. The front yard azaleas were fine, maybe because the house protected them on the North.

And the rains came with very gusty winds and heavy downpour. Chickadees and titmice visit the feeder between rain bands.

It's beginning to clear, and in an azalea under the front yard oak, Kathleen found a blinded sphinx moth, Paonias excaecatus. Very lethargic, maybe from the cold rain? It could be freshly emerged, but one spot on the right upper wing is rubbed.

Robin fights

They rise up fluttering and fussing at each other. I hope one of my photos captured it. Not quite.

Also, a crow has been visiting. No clouds but contrails.

Back to the bird bath

The pool cover is coming off today so the birds that have been drinking from the puddle in th middle - jays this morning - will have to get used to the bird bath.

Mid afternoon, as I was doing yard work, a hummingbird came by. Of course the camera was not handy. The hummingbird was moving fast but in my glimpse it looked like there was yellow on it. Pollen?

Balmy and still

Finally there is no wind, just "light airs." The pinxter flower (native deciduous azalea) has been blooming for several days. Some of the roses are blooming, especially the singles and the ones that come up from root stock on the hybrids. And the pecan has put out its long bud strings - its flowers are just like the oak.

I saw a red admiral pursued by a much smaller orange insect. I don't know if it was trying to drive off the butterfly or attack it, but its moves were exactly like a basketball guard. Both the black and the tiger swallowtails are busy depositing eggs.

Also being harassed was an osprey which reacted by flying higher and higher. An early jay sat on the post. Later the molting male house finch perched there before going off to drink from the pool cover. The male cardinal had the same idea. Only the chickadee was bold enough to hit the feeder with me sitting there.