Windy

Yesterday was just dreary.  I saw nothing.  This morning was about the same, though the wind drove the tide across the dock.  The sun peeked out in the afternoon but the wind was fierce and soon blew in fresh overcast.  There were waves on the creek.  A common threadwaisted wasp tried to feed on the mountain mint and got blown into the mulch.  A small dark insect I think may have been a duskywing skipper fled over the roof.  A midge landed on the concrete.  Chickadees, titmice, cardinals, and downy woodpeckers visited the feeders.  Geese and mallards paddled in the creek.  

Humid

I spent the morning getting my foot treated.  But nothing much crossed the patio except a couple of squirrels.  The beautyberries and dogwood berries were loaded but I didn't see any birds eating them.  Sassafras leaves were beginning to turn yellow and orange.  The saltbush was in bloom.  In the afternoon, a great blue heron and a dozen mallards hung out on the dock.  

Rain at last

 A female red bellied woodpecker came for suet.  She was the only picture I got all day.  And the rain didn't amount to much. 

Heavy sky

Soggy gray clouds overhead and high humidity apparently discouraged the wildlife.  At least, it discouraged me.  And no rain fell.  We seem to be in the midst of a drought after years of excessive rain.  A big mulch roach got stuck to one of the pill bottles from which I'd carefully peeled the label.  I was intending to use adhesive remover on the bottles and use them for seed storage.  K released it back into the wild, minus a few legs. 

A downy woodpecker came for suet.  I glimpsed a gray and yellow bird and also a blue jay in the trees.  Cardinals and chickadees made regular visits to the sunflower seeds.  I thought I saw a young cardinal whose beak hadn't turned orange yet. 

Tree frog

Early in the morning, K found a little green tree frog sitting on one of the pepper plants!  I said, next time that's worth waking me for.  

All I saw were sleeping mallards.  Oh, and a blue jay.  And after dark a tiny moth on the window. 

Changing season

The big bracket fungus that I hope is living on dead oak roots looked like toffee.  Dogwood leaves were turning many colors and so were the first sassafras.  The first camellia opened.  The feathery white saltbush flowers were close to open.  

Wasps and bumblebees still visited the mountain mint and I think beetles tried to walk on water.  A yellow jacket wanted to drive me away from the end of the pool.  I found a caterpillar I didn't recognize hustling across the patio.  

Sunset painted vivid colors on the water.  

Reflections

The morning reflections glittered but later the creek surface was rumpled.  Leaves floating in the pool cast reflections that changed their shapes.  .

A few bees and wasps still visited the mountain mint.  It looked half dead from the spider mites.  I was surprised not to see birds eating berries.  Dogwood and beautyberries were both ripe.  The saltbush was blooming.