White sky

There was sunshine despite the clouds.  A breeze did not alleviate the heat and humidity.  At least three titmice contended with the usual suspects in order to get seeds.  The hummers had drunk their feeder dry so K swapped it with fresh.  That was the last of a pint batch so I made another.  One hummer chased off another then took up a sentry post in the dogwood.  A cloudless sulphur, a monarch, and a black swallowtail  passed through swiftly.

I saw a flicker in the grass below the redwood, but the camera was in the other room.  Then something startled a squirrel so I peeked further around the office window and there was a pileated woodpecker working on the spindliest pine.  That did it.  I went for the camera and got off one shot when the battery gave up.  So I went back to swap batteries and was rewarded with a white breasted nuthatch.

Back at the office window I saw blue jays, a mockingbird, the flicker again, and a least flycatcher (I think).  A couple of downys showed up to round out the woodpecker family.  The downys, the pileated, and the flicker were all male.  But I have no idea what attracted them all at the same time. Snowy egrets persisted in poking around the rocks at the dam outfall.  At lunch a couple of hummers stared at each other from inches away on a cherry twig, till one gave up. 

A blue dasher and an amberwing hunted around the patio.  I saw what may have been a giant swallowtail, but may have been only a palamedes.  Honeybees joined the bumblebees on the rosemary.  I found yet another drowned skink.  I did glimpse a live one earlier.  The sky in the late afternoon had a fish scale look.  A hummer muttered to itself about whether we were safe to feed around.  A yellow crowned night heron prowled along the spartina and I think it caught something.

White sky

There was sunshine despite the clouds.  A breeze did not alleviate the heat and humidity.  At least three titmice contended with the usual suspects in order to get seeds.  The hummers had drunk their feeder dry so K swapped it with fresh.  That was the last of a pint batch so I made another.  One hummer chased off another then took up a sentry post in the dogwood.  A cloudless sulphur, a monarch, and a black swallowtail  passed through swiftly.

I saw a flicker in the grass below the redwood, but the camera was in the other room.  Then something startled a squirrel so I peeked further around the office window and there was a pileated woodpecker working on the spindliest pine.  That did it.  I went for the camera and got off one shot when the battery gave up.  So I went back to swap batteries and was rewarded with a white breasted nuthatch. 

Back at the office window I saw blue jays, a mockingbird, and a least flycatcher (I think).  A couple of downys showed up to round out the woodpecker family.  The downys, the pileated, and the flicker were all male.  But I have no idea what attracted them all at the same time. Snowy egrets persisted in poking around the rocks at the dam outfall.  At lunch a couple of hummers stared at each other from inches away on a cherry twig, till one gave up. 

Clouds returned

Hummers breakfasted despite the coming and going of the seed eaters.  When I returned in the late morning, a female goldfinch was drinking from the ant moat in the hummingbird feeder.  A young skink crossed the patio in no hurry. After lunch a hummer settled into the dead dogwood twigs.

A blue dasher used one of the perches.  A butterfly sat on the orange beachball but it flew before I got a good look.  Others flitted around including one cloudless sulphur.  I saw eggs on the parsley, but no caterpillars there or on the rue.  The usual bees and wasps visited the herbs.  A flock of winged ants had landed on a leaf raft while others floated in the water.  A dead caterpillar also floated.  I don't know what it was, but it was long and slender, not swallowtail or monarch.

The spartina started to bloom.  And the chaste tree continued to put out the occasional spike of flowers.  The milkweed recovered amazingly fast - leaves were almost full grown.  The cloud cover broke apart at sunset and turned colors.  Fireflies came out before it was fully dark.  I do not remember seeing them this late in the year before. 

Rain to sun

Early rain did not deter the birds.  A couple of blue jays chased around in the cherry.  In fact, there were jays around all day, but they would not pose.  The regulars and hummers came to the feeders. The sun took over by mid morning and a breeze joined it to dry things out.

In the middle of the afternoon, I soaked my stung hand in the pool.  The skimmer held a live and a drowned skink.  After I got out, it seemed like there were more skinks of all sizes everywhere.  One small skink had lost its tail right behind its back legs.

A monarch butterfly rested in the domestic cherry that grew from a pit I tossed into the mulch years ago.  I saw other butterflies but not well enough to be sure of their identity.  Wasps like the one that stung me were about but left me alone.  A green grasshopper seemed attached to the door. 

A downy woodpecker wanted seeds but was too wary of me.  Later when I was inside, titmice came for seeds.  Snowy egrets were still finding food at the dam outfall.  A house wren chased a skink into the rosemary.  It hunted all around and then visited the seed feeder, looking for bugs I assume. 

Sunset turned fuzzy contrails pink.  The first quarter moon hung over the chimney when I closed the feeder to keep raccoons from depleting it.

Cloudy

Sunshine was predicted.  Humpf.  A couple of blue jays raided the mealworms and got away before I had the camera fired up.  Hummers visited.  At least three doves were hanging around.  The birdbath had dried out which disappointed a squirrel.  She came to the watering can and peered through the window at me.  I say "she" because another squirrel was following and attempting the sniff test. The sky cleared at lunch.  A downy woodpecker visited the feeder.

Afterward, I started to dismantle the birdhouse that blew down and discovered a paper wasp nest inside.  Now I know how hard a yellow-kneed wasp can sting.  It seemed to be hunting me for a while so I was reluctant to take the camera outside - too much to remember if I had to run. Naturally I saw all kinds of cool stuff without any pictures to prove it.  A cicada killer roamed the steps.  A palamedes and a black swallowtail hung around.  A yellow sulphur flitted through.  Skippers, dusky and fiery, fed on the lavender and the morning glory.  And a lovely emerald female pondhawk also hunted around the steps.  I rescued a spider. a two-lined spittlebug adult, a bristletail, and a blue tailed skink. 

In addition I saw a bird in the trees that I couldn't identify, especially as all I could see was its tummy and the head it cocked curiously at me.  The closest match seemed to be a red eyed vireo, which would be a new bird for me if I could be sure. The snowy egrets were still attracted to the dam outfall which was still emptying the excess rain from three lakes. 

Warming up

When I got up, the creek was a mirror of warm colors.  The tide was still running high and egrets were still fishing at the dam outfall.  A great blue heron stood statue-like on the bulkhead across the creek while Canada geese moved in.  And a night heron stood on a boathouse with wings cupped.  A female goldfinch visited the hummer feeder for a drink.  Hummers did too.  Butterflies flitted too fast for me, but I saw skippers, snouts, a cloudless sulphur, and a black swallowtail. 

The sky was a clear blue but the wind was very gusty in the afternoon, and seemed to change direction unpredictably.  I was too late to save a blue tailed skink, but rescued a handful of black field crickets and a couple of ground beetles.  A few bees, butterflies and dragonflies braved the wind: a female blue dasher, a male slaty skimmer, and this tattered variegated fritillary.

The milkweed began to recover from the caterpillars' appetites.  However the marsh fleabane was uprooted by the storm.  A rosette of bracket polypore fungus popped up in the grass after the storm, probably from a dead oak root. 

There were fireflies blinking away at dusk.  I don't remember seeing them this late in the year before.

Clouds and sun

It was breezy and pleasant for the holiday.  A goldfinch pair visited the hummer feeder.  So did the hummer.  The regulars came for seeds.  A great egret preened on a neighboring dock.  A black swallowtail egged the rue.

A palamedes swallowtail passed through at lunch.  The black was back. And a cicada rested on the feeder post.  The house finch clan was all over the feeder.  A hummer tried to drive off one that was sitting on her juice, but the finch wouldn't move even when the hummer charged at it. 

In the late afternoon I found an unusual caterpillar on the railing.  I assumed it had blown off a tree.  It was very small, maybe a centimeter long.  I thought from the colors that it might be a saddleback so I was very cautious.  But research revealed it to be a Schizura prominent moth, I think Schizura ipomoeae. The moth is nothing to look at. 

High tide was still over the dock.  As the tide dropped, more and more egrets gathered at the dam outfall until there were five at one time, both great and snowy.  When one caught something large, I lost camera focus unfortunately.  (The distance is at the extreme end of what this camera will resolve.)  It looked like a couple of snowy egrets were mating, or maybe just fighting.  Then near evening, they all lifted off and joined a flock headed North over the lake.

Hummers chased each other when not frustrated by the seed eaters.  A titmouse joined the regulars. One adult male cardinal shivered its wings like a fledgling while it fed itself.  A neurotic?  The sky grew overcast in the afternoon but he clouds colored up a bit at sunset.