Cool and sunny so far

A praying mantis was on the kitchen window this morning. The hummer had already started. And a squirrel chased a rabbit across the patio. The paper says that thanks to Irene the swamp fire is 90% contained.

Feeder fun

A squirrel did its utmost, twice trying to somersault onto the perch to get at the seeds. But the squirrel-proof promise was kept. Which is more than I can say for the newspaper's weather prediction of sunny. It is gray with occasional drips. The paper says the year's rain deficit is over thanks to Irene. The question is how much of the rain actually soaked into the ground.

In addition to the squirrel, wrens decided to sample seeds for breakfast. And the usual suspects came: cardinals, finches, chickadees, titmice, while doves cleaned up what fell. Some of the birds still have feathers awry from the wind. Two finches parked themselves on the feeder looking grumpy and sleepy. They're all fluffed out as though it was cold, but it is quite pleasant albeit damp.

Two rabbits were madly chasing back and forth across the patio. Surely they won't try for a third brood this year? And the hummers continue hostilities. It appears to be clearing off now around mid morning. Noon and the sun has arrived. Several butterflies are out - black and tiger swallowtails and a fritillary. Flies are getting annoying after a summer mostly free of them. I wonder if it's the rainy August?

Back to normal

The fledgling cardinal has been much in evidence. I like his rather punk look. I find it fascinating that unobservant people perpetuate the idea that when juvenile birds leave the nest they are on their own. A moment's thought would reveal that only after a young bird can move around can it learn to find food. So, this cardinal-in-training flies and hops and pecks at all sorts of things but relies on parents to convey seeds from the feeder to its gaping beak.

Hummer hostilities continue as does finch greed. It has clouded up and gone gray. Geese were headed up-creek and an egret watched the lake outflow.

After Irene

I'm very glad I got up early enough to see the storm dissipate. It was still gray and windy when I went outside, but over the next hour the clouds blew East where the sun tinted them.

There were tree branches and a lot of leaves and several shingles, but altogether it was nothing like the storm last May. Though I suppose the trees that blew down in May might have toppled from Irene if they'd still been standing.

All the critters were famished and we got the feeders out right away. The finches so crowded the perch that they tipped it like a bigger bird. They totally ignored the squirrel's attempts to join them.

The hummers have resumed their combat. Even the little skink was out and about. I saw a black swallowtail laying eggs and a big green darner dragonfly hunting mosquitoes. A little green heron took up position on the dock.

Good morning Irene

I heard a "rain band" come through around 3am and several since. It is gray and wet and gusty. It is nearly high tide which is a good thing as the winds aren't all that strong yet. The evening high tide should come after the center passes and the wind starts coming from the West so that shouldn't be exceptionally high either. The lower end of the dock is just barely awash.

The finches were protesting all over the feeder hanger in between wind gusts. "Where's breakfast?" So we put some seeds down on the steps. I saw another bird try to take shelter behind a drainpipe where the robins build a nest some years ago. I just saw a dragonfly blow past.

We lost power around 11am. The cardinals and finches continued to come for seeds throughout the storm. The cardinals are still feeding fledglings - the second crop, I think. Here's dad stuffing his teenager in the middle of the hurricane.

Beyond sticky!

It is incredibly humid. The windows are frosted like a glass of iced tea. The birds are stocking up as though they know there will be no feeders dangling in the wind tomorrow.

At lunch, the hummers really went for each other, scaring off the larger birds. They buzzed around like Star Wars fighters - at least three and maybe four of them.

I had another glimpse of the hawk. And a couple of frogs continue to hang out at the pool. Meanwhile a tiny blue-tailed skink chased a cricket that hid behind me. This skink is smaller than the one I saw last year and much smaller than the one I saw last week which no longer has a blue tail.

Two frogs persist in using the pool despite the chlorine. We heard an osprey as the clouds rolled in. The mosquitoes have been horrible today for our pre-hurricane party. Tomorrow Irene.

Hotter today

The hummer was hard at work but disturbed by the finch squabbles. It would dart over to see what they were doing then hurry back to its feeder.

The "cone of doom" has Irene arriving Saturday night/Sunday morning. And the air is again full of smoke. What an assortment of natural conditions I have had to blog about - snow, windstorm, swamp fire, earthquake, and next a hurricane. (Not to mention the plague of frogs.)

An opportunistic plant has rooted in the scar of a missing limb on the remaining oak. The oak is starting a new branch beside it and you can see the leaves are different. It's at least twenty feet in the air.

A leaf-footed true bug was shedding its exoskeleton on the front of the house as I went out. It was still there when I got home three hours later, but the empty molt was gone. Too bad I didn't have time for a photo when it was in process.