Hot blue sky

Four squirrels behaving badly, lots of chasing and tussling.  One is clearly hoping to mount someone, anyone.  White spot held her rear flat to the concrete so he couldn't do anything.  During one chase, the two knocked over a third one.  On the feeder, finches and chickadees.

A hoot of an article on what state birds ought to be.  Meanwhile I continue to have no luck photographing either swallows or dragonflies.  An osprey hovered over the lake but didn't come to the creek. Later another osprey passed overhead.  Finally I caught a couple of swallows in silhouette! And I think they may be chimney swifts.  The sound and the tail shape fit. 

A tiger swallowtail flew from treetop to treetop.  A female towhee was all over the yard while a pileated woodpecker went to work on the roof of the neighbor's gazebo. The woodpecker went screeching past just as my camera battery flashed empty.  I wasn't going to waste time changing batteries so most of the woodpecker photos came out fuzzy.

A click beetle landed on me.  I saw another beetle I fear was a borer. The wasps are still mad for rue nectar. 

Wren in the birdhouse

Cardinals, house finches, chickadees, Carolina wrens, the towhee pair, and many squirrels came to breakfast.  Something darted over the pool, dipping down to the water and then rising.  It was either a very big insect or a very tiny bird.  The behavior made me think dragonfly.  A wren that looks almost the same size has been going in and out of the birdhouse. I'm pretty sure it is a house wren - no eye liner.

I think I saw the fox in the next yard, either that or a cat with a very amazing tail.  A brown thrasher serenaded me before coming to inspect the mulch.  I didn't dare move for the camera - it had its beady yellow eye on me.  A Carolina wren and a chickadee also came to the feeder while I was sitting there, about 8' away.  The wasps just love the rue. It makes drops of nectar like a poinsettia does. 

As I ate supper, the Carolina wren came back for a nice, peaceful, sun-warmed bath,   Ma at the spa.  The sky has been the brilliant blue that makes me believe I can see ultraviolet.  Some white clouds formed and dissipated, just enough for texture.  Again I failed to photograph the swallows. 

Early birds

From bed, I could see the shadows of many birds around the feeder.  The rising sun has moved North enough to back light them.  A dapper male towhee came for breakfast.  And, I discovered those early birds had emptied the feeder!  A black swallowtail took an interest in the bolting parsley.  Lots of wasps like the rue and this kind also visit the parsley.  I believe it is a mason or potter wasp. 

I dumped and refilled the hummer feeder and refilled the seed feeder.  White spot sucked up the spilled sugar water. Have I created an addict?

Hot and hazy

Squirrels, chickadees, and Carolina wrens are at the feeder, finches and cardinals are more wary with me outside.  Something crashed through the gladiola overnight, possibly in revenge for the board K nailed to keep the mulch in place. The wren on the back of the feeder soon joined the one in front. 

An osprey and some swallows circled overhead.  Later a male towhee visited.  White spot licked up all the sugar water from the hummer feeder.

More squirrel nonsense

Four squirrels have been busy eating, poking into things, chasing each other, and eyeballing me.  The  geese have tried to visit several times, as have the mallards.  They got hosed.  Carolina wrens seem frantic as they hunt for seeds to feed their young. The usual suspects have also been to the feeder.  I think my drier lint has kept the ants out of the hummer feeder, but where are the hummingbirds?  It is hazier today.  At one point the contrails looked like tic-tac-toe.

It is beginning to cloud over.  The male house finches who usually get along, rose up battling in the air when both came to the feeder.   With the sun on their red feathers they were amazing.  The winner returned to find a Carolina wren had moved in.  He tried to evict the wren, but it stood its ground and poked its longer beak right back.  A wren sang for us from the dead oak limb.

A saddlebags dragonfly buzzed overhead.  Wasps are delighting in the rue nectar.  A skink used a shadow for camouflage I found a ladybug on the window and took it outside. It had too many spots -turns out to be an Asian harlequin ladybug imported as a pest predator.

A Carolina wren got in the garage and could not figure out how to leave.  Apparently its instinct is to fly up even when the way out is clearly visible lower down.   This has happened before with wrens. We left it alone and it went away. The towhee pair visited the mulch briefly toward evening. 

More cool sunshine

Squirrels are very active.  Feeder refilled and hosting cardinals and finches.  Lots of song and cries of "feed me!" A tiger swallowtail flew across the blue sky and a silver spotted skipper fed on the rue flowers.  The parsley flowers are quite as big as Queen Anne's Lace, but more yellow-green.  The Carolina wrens are working hard. An osprey soared upstream. 

The tide is very low this evening.  A dismembered carcase is lying on the floating dock.  I think it was a fish even though I see a feather.  No herons or egrets are fishing, but one little green heron flew right past me.  I can hear nestlings begging in the undergrowth. An LBJ (little grown job) flew past me and landed on a piling just as the camera battery gave up. 

In her column, Mary Reid Barrow mentioned a tree value calculator.   And the VB Virtual Twon Hall is asking about urban trees. 

Cold and sunny

Lots of wind making the cool temperature seem even chillier, but visually it is a beautiful day.  The usual suspects showed up, including the gaggle of geese.  I think it may be ideal for yard work.

A cabbage butterfly flitted among plants without showing any preference. It is still cool and windy. A skink appeared briefly at lunch.