Piles of cumulus

Menacing clouds crowded the sky but did not deliver.  I was mostly busy.  A couple of doves dropped in.  So did a goose family and they left evidence behind.  Later I surprised a mallard with two well grown ducklings down at the water's edge.  They left immediately.  I saw blue jays but got no photos.  Hummingbirds were more cooperative.  Lots of Japanese beetles were eating and mating.  The tide ran high as we neared the full moon, invisible behind the clouds. 

Extreme UV

A hummer got up early and breakfasted with us.  At lunch, the Carolina saddlebags was back on its treetop perch.  By 5pm it was joined in the air by 12-spotted skimmers. I went out to swim during the fiercest sun in the afternoon and I may have overdone it.  I didn't bring the camera because of the sun, so naturally I saw interesting wildlife.  A minuscule green katydid (or something similar) sat on the edge of the steps.  Spiders ran around on the water, none with babies.   

Fresh growth was visible at the top of the oak.  A branch of the chaste tree drooped with the weight of blossoms and bumblebees.  A mockingbird checked to see of the wild cherries were ripe. 

Skinks enjoyed the heat and none went for a swim.  A tiger swallowtail liked the mountain mint.  So did a great golden digger wasp.  To my disgust, I discovered that Japanese beetles were using the hibiscus as a singles bar.  I gunked 'em good with neem oil. 

In the late afternoon while I was attempting to photograph dragonflies on the wing, two swallows, or one twice, zipped past me at roof height.  I'm not used to them flying so low.  Twilight glowed rose without clouds.  Fireflies went off like silent fireworks over the grass.  Crows and herons flew home.  I believe I heard a tentative cicada.  The waxing gibbous moon was sharply detailed. 

Cloudy

Even though there was a risk of rain, I put off swimming till afternoon.  I thought I saw a greenhead fly so I got out of the water.  Robber flies began to appear.  A crane fly cllung to the door screen. 

Blue dashers occupied every reasonable perch.  A Carolina saddlebags made a dead twig at the top of the hackberry tree its base of operations.  That led me to notice that the wild cherries were about half way to ripe.

Since the rue was going to seed, wasps switched to the mountain mint and the lavender.  A great golden digger wasp reappeared.  The sakaki flowers attracted bees.  A half dozen bumblebees had fallen into the pool and some actually revived. 

Toward evening, dragonflies of some sort zipped around at treetop height.  Then a yellow crowned night heron landed in the oak.  At lunch, K had spotted a juvenile night heron up in a pine tree but the one in the oak was an adult.

The clouds took on strange appearances during the day but only a handful of raindrops ever landed.  A fragment of rainbow floated overhead for a while. I saw but failed to photograph blue jays and hummingbirds

Bright

Titmice returned to the seed feeder.  The sakaki bloomed and attracted bees. I fished bumblebees out of the water, dead and alive.  A skink was swimming hard but willing to climb onto my hand.  I made it wait for selfies before I put my hand ashore.  I also rescued a mother wolf spider. 


Several crows craved bark butter balls.  I noticed that mimosas were blooming downstream from our yard.  A skink darted across the hot concrete.  The female bluebird was pushed away by one of the crows. 
A few clouds passed over but the sun still pushed the temperature into the high 90s.   I went outside during an afternoon break and saw a tiger swallowtail and a Carolina saddlebags. Other dragonflies used the perches.  I finally got some good first quarter moon shots with the new camera. 

Mostly invertebrates

The sky was intensely blue and the sun was hot.  I found lots of glass snails in the pool and transferred half a dozen to the birdbath.  I also fished out a bumblebee, a pine borer, and a mama wolf spider.  Blue dashers a widow skimmer, and a female great blue skimmer used the perching stakes I set out. 

Butterfly milkweed popped up suddenly and had already made flower buds.  The other milkweeds have been growing slowly all Spring but have no sign of blooming.  Only one turtle was out in the sun and it soon slid into the water.  And then I was in a meeting all afternoon and evening.

Overcast

A gray day turned to rain mid afternoon.  I found more glass snails in the pool.  An egret or heron defecated while flying over the pool railing.  I hope the rain washed it off.  The bark butter balls were popular in the morning.  Blue jays, chickadees, bluebirds, and the odd downy woodpecker all wanted some.  Hummers came for their juice even in the rain. 

Hot sun

I went swimming in the morning because I was busy in the afternoon.  Snails and spiders floated but a bumblebee need rescuing.  As I was getting out of the pool, a tiger swallowtail had a long drink at a daisy.  But it wasn't long enough for me to get the camera.  Later, I saw a very small butterfly, maybe a spring azure, that never alighted.  From my seat at the computer in the afternoon, I saw dragonflies and a night heron.  The chaste tree had begun to bloom.