Overnight rain

It sounded heavy at times.  This morning has been gray and damp, but no more rain has fallen.  In addition to the regulars, I've seen a catbird, a titmouse, a Carolina wren, and a male towhee.  Osprey have circled below the heavy clouds that are blowing to the West. 

Glimmers of sun appeared at lunch and the sky cleared as the afternoon wore on.  A small butterfly, perhaps a hairstreak, visited the money plan.  A pair of doves poked through the mulch.  I saw a hummer in the twilight! 

Cinco de Mayo

I'm not sure how yesterday got away from me.  It was a lovely, warm day.  The regulars showed up and at twilight, a male towhee.  Egrets waded and flew.  Crows, of course, were ubiquitous.  I assembled the birdhouse and made hummer juice.  K hung the birdhouse in the usual spot.  I also saw a dragonfly, a small, brown butterfly on the money plant, and many wasps and bees. 

This morning, K hung the hummer feeder.  Something, probably a wren, investigated the birdhouse before it was out of the shade.  The towhee and the egrets reappeared, along with the usual suspects. The squirrel with the white spot on its left hip is still with us. A pair of geese with only three goslings paddled downstream. 

Later I saw a bigger butterfly, maybe a swallowtail?  Skinks are awake!  A titmouse visited briefly.  And in the afternoon, we got rain. 

Home!

And it is a beautiful day, just slightly cool when the sun slips behind a cloud.  A crow was bathing on the pool step when we came home.

Later, at least eight grackles poked about in the grass.  A brown thrasher hopped up the roof.  The usual suspects and a titmouse visited the feeder and some squirrels hunted in the mulch. A paper wasp is building a nest under the fascia overhang.

The azaleas are waning while the money plants are covered with blooms.  There are buds on the roses.  The storms the past weeks pretty much washed away the pollen - I wonder if there will be acorns this fall?

Sun and clouds alternating

It was just warm enough to be outside in the sun.  I spent a few minutes mid-morning and again late afternoon.  Robins and a dove, birds chasing a crow, gulls calling.  The courtyard roses are blooming, but the azaleas in the shade are still in bud. 

Drying out?

I was outside for a while this morning.  Big bees and wasps were flying around in the humid air, but the sidewalks were dry. 

Warm, wet wind

It is very humid and quite a bit warmer today.  The trees are still being whipped by the wind and whenever a door is opened, gusts of warm damp air flood in.  The pavement is dry around the puddles and there have been glimmers of sunshine. 

This morning a crow landed on the pergola outside my window and a swarm of smaller birds harassed it.  I could not tell what species they were through the blinds. 

Rainy, chilly week

I've seen some birds flit past windows, that's all. In the night, the trees thrashed in the wind.