As we passed over a bit of swamp, I believe I saw waterlilies blooming. Later I glimpsed two wild turkeys grazing in a field of stubble. When the train stopped in Richmond a mockingbird hopped around. The James and rivers to the South were very low from drought but the Rappahannock and rivers to the North seemed full. It was a surprisingly nice day in Washington.
The female red bellied woodpecker returned with seeds on her mind. By lunch, the temperature was up to 100°. At suupper I saw the goldfinches on the feeder. The female gave way to a titmouse and later waited while a chickadee was on the perch.
I saw a titmouse on the seed feeder as I left in the morning. I also saw the yellow cat on my way out. After I got home, I dumped the rainwater out of the dish and filled it with barkbutter balls. That drew blue jays. Goldfinches and the bluebird with the bent feather stuck with seeds. In the evening, blue jays queued up for seeds too.
The flycatcher didn't sample any food but it tried its best to come through the glass into the house. It didn't seem to learn and tested all the windows several times. But since it was just fluttering at them and not striking them, I didn't interfere. I'm pretty sure I saw a second flycatcher fly over the house which eventually the first one did too. I wondered if they were fledglings because they didn't seem very smart.
The day heated up into the 90s and I didn't do much outdoor puttering. The breeze wasn't as helpful either. A cabbage white wanted mountain mint nectar but was bugged by wasps. A tiger swallowtail bobbed around the wild cherry. I assume it was laying eggs. Bees feasted on mountain mint. The tux cat tried to catch a squirrel. I had a hard time finding the orchard spider after the rain. The red flowers were spent, replaced by white daisies, a yellow daylily, and a yellow sunflower.
Rain fell overnight and the morning was still damp though the birdbath hadn't collected any water. A Carolina wren picked through the barkbutter crumbs. A squirrel was determined to break into the seed feeder and glared at me when it was unsuccessful. Most of the flowers were finished except for the daisies.
The goldfinches visited at lunchtime. Then the male pileated woodpecker arrived to see if there was suet. A black swallowtail flitted between the rue and mountain mint. Wasps were loyal to the mountain mint. Then the rain came down hard. It held the temperature down in the 80s.
In the aftermath of the rain, I saw a hummingbird hovering over the saltmarsh. Maybe it was catching bugs for nestlings? It seemed so strange to see one away from a feeder.
The sun was intense despite shreds of cumulus blowing out of the Southwest. A fierce wind whipped the trees and cast debris into the water. The Carolina wren was up early, looking for that good barkbutter. There were only a few crumbs left. I took more out later and blue jays were not far behind. The wren returned as well. Then a crow wanted a big beak full.
The orchard spider moved near the front of the azalea which put the web at a difficult angle for the camera. The little Argiope was refreshing the opaque part of its web. A frayed silk thread dangled stretched between bare twigs at the top of the wild cherry. The cherries were ripening but if we don't get rain they will be nothing but skin and pit. I found another Argiope web, but it seemed to be uninhabited even though it was in good shape.
I picked some blueberries in the morning while it was only in the 80s. By lunch, the thermometer flickered between 101 and 102°. A yellow crowned night heron flew over the house. One blue jay chose seeds even though the perch slowly dropped from the bird's weight. A dropped seed that germinated looked ready to harvest. After leafing out and blooming, most of the rue shriveled and died from some unknown cause, maybe old age. A Japanese beetle tasted a rose leaf. The roses were chewed to pieces.
Again we entertained goldfinches. The Carolina wren was back. The male bluebird with the bent feather stopped by for some seeds. A blue dasher used one of the perches. Two sunflowers reflected mid day sunshine. K said the outdoor thermometer read 100°.
I saw a squirrel do a back flip twice by the birdbath. Then I realized there was another squirrel behind him. I don't know if he was trying to impress her or if she bit him but he was definitely thinking about romance and nursing his right arm.
The night was still quite warm when I sat outside. It didn't feel humid but there was no breeze and eventually bugs found me. Fireflies advertised their desire for a mate. Something quite large and soundless flew overhead toward the creek. I believe it was an owl. The full moon had not yet risen.
A male goldfinch checked out the vegetation around the seed feeder. Another male was on the feeder and was in no mood to share. A Carolina wren visited the barkbutter balls. Toward the end of the afternoon, goldfinches picked at the top of the maple tree.
I remembered the web I saw yesterday and located it again. It looked like a floating fingerprint but the bottom moved as though the spider was rebuilding it. Later, a blue dasher obelisked on a bamboo stake in the sun. Wasps collected on the mountain mint. A skimmer used a different bamboo perch.
