Still nice

The wonderful weather continued.  I saw a white breasted nuthatch at the seed feeder.  A hummer attacked a goldfinch that just wanted a drink of water.  A tiger swallowtail, a black swallowtail, and some other insects also escaped the camera.  One Argiope was tucked snugly between the azalea and the window waiting for insects attracted to the lights inside.  The one that had moved higher was gone. I noticed a lot of holes in the nearby mud dauber wasp nest.  The smallest Argiope was still small.  A red spotted purple lit on a dogwood.  A noisy squirrel stretched out for a siesta on an oak branch.  A skinklet peered out from vegetation.  An odd wasp seemed to dance like a bee..  Finally a dragonfly took up guard duty. 

Glorious weather

This was the sort of day we hope for in June.  It was still a bit cool and cloudy in the morning when I swam but the afternoon was sunny with a nice breeze and in the low 80s.  Two hibiscus flowers greeted us.  Two frogs were in the skimmer and I thought a third one was sitting on the top step of the pool ladder but I was only able to find two. One was the little bullfrog but the other was different, maybe a green frog?  Though I caught them in the morning and put them out, I saw them again in the afternoon hanging out on the ladder. 

Two big monarch caterpillars and four younger ones chowed down on the butterfly milkweed.  The four Argiope spiders looked well.  A couple of blue dashers got territorial over a perch by thr mountain mint.  A slaty skimmer found the perch outside my window.  I glimpsed a couple of high flying dragonflies and an amberwing in the mountain mint.  A few fiery skippers were around.  A lovely red banded hairstreak visited the mountain mint.  I spotted more camouflaged loopers.  A variegated fritillary seemed to be laying eggs on the morning glory and the violets.  I thought I saw a monarch and a palamedes swallowtail but they were too fast for certainty. 

Blue jays and a bluebird found the barkbutter balls.  Hummers fed in the morning but by afternoon were coming to the window with demands.  Sure enough a spot of mold had started.  So K hung a fresh feeder.  A rain lily popped up in the front yard.  The lantana was a mass of flowers that attracted skippers.  

Cooler

A female goldfinch visited the seed feeder at breakfast.  Then a hummer arrived.  I was glad to see that the feeder contents had not been diluted in yesterday's rain showers.  At least two hummers were after sugar water - one defended the source and one tried to sneak a drink.  The hibiscus opened a flower with two buds ready for tomorrow.  A slaty skimmer perched briefly but, despite the humidity, the middle of the day was windy which kept the bloodsuckers away.  K dumped two frogs out of the skimmer.  One was back in the pool later so I caught it and evicted it again.  I also rescued a mama spider. 

I counted four monarch caterpillars, each a different stage.  And I found more camouflage loopers.  Southern purple mint moths were on the mountain mint but also in the grass and elsewhere.  A monarch and a red spotted purple crossed the yard without stopping.  One of the Argiope spiders had relocated much higher.  The other two were about the same places as yesterday.  And I finally found the fourth which had been below the hibiscus but had moved up to the wall beside it.  A closer look at the brown caterpillar on the butterfly milkweed made me wonder if it had been zombie-fied by a fungus.  It appeared deflated and there were a tangle of threads all around it.  An ant was investigating.  Other small ants were carrying off sunflower hulls.  In the late afternoon the wind dropped but, from the Southwest, clouds moved to cover the sky.  The no-see-ums came after me so I went inside. 

Still rainy

After a long morning meeting, I showed J what lurked on the mountain mint.  She got photos of a monarch caterpillar, a gray hairstreak, and a southern purple mint moth.  A caterpillar was eating his umbrella.  In the pool I caught a frog but it got back in and by that time thunder was accompanying the shower so we left the pool to the frog.  The garden spiders had relocated closer to the window.  

The sun came back later but had to fight past clouds.  Mosquitoes were thick.  Wasps took advantage of the sun.  A tiger swallowtail shopped for child care among the wild cherry leaves.  Hummers approved of their nectar.  

Showers

A Carolina wren was on the seed feeder at breakfast.  Molting left it looking pretty scruffy.  Hummers were back but before the day was over they rejected the juice.  Fresh tomorrow!  The molting cardinal hunkered down on the seed feeder perch, looking more like a pirate than a cardinal.  I picked what looked like a window between rain bands to swim.  Two showers rained on me in half an hour.  I evicted a frog and K scared it back into the water.  I also saved yet another six-spotted green tiger beetle, Cicindela sexguttata, with no spots. 

Bell flowers hung from the ground cherry plants but one under the window was stripped of leaves.  I need to look for the caterpillar that was responsible.  Some Southern purple mint moths rested on mountain mint leaves.  Only two caterpillars were visible today but they were a lot bigger.  And there was something under a leaf that looked like a small brown caterpillar, not a monarch.  I thought a little blob of dead flowers on the mountain mint might be a Camouflaged Looper, Synchlora aerata.  The blog was moving.  Wasps and bees couldn't stay away from the mountain mint.  A yellow crowned night heron perched on a dock piling.  

Less wet

A female bluebird wanted seeds but the male cardinal was being a bully.  Maybe it was because he was molting and feeling ugly.  I counted four mid-size caterpillars on the butterfly milkweed.  The two largest that I saw before had disappeared.  One persisted on eating a seedpod which attracted very tiny ants. 

Some bees and wasps came for mountain mint nectar.  I rescued yet another green tiger beetle from the water.  It refused to pose.  Hummers were more cooperative.  One tried the butterfly milkweed.  After I got out and sat down to drip dry, a rain shower came out of nowhere so I dripped my way inside.  

Wet day

The very hungry monarch kept feeding despite the rain which, fortunately, was gentle.  The butterfly seemed territorial, at least, it flew after K and later a crow when they came too close.  Meanwhile, at least four caterpillars were chomping up the butterfly milkweed.  I saw a black swallowtail too.  I too ignored the rain and went swimming.  That was fortunate for a mama spider, a green tiger beetle, and a couple of wasps. 

A Carolina wren was hungry too and visited the seed feeder.  A brown headed nuthatch got the munchies later on.  Hummers ignored the rain to consume sugar water.