One down (up and away?) and nine to go, if I've counted right. It just seems miraculous that a gorgeous butterfly can emerge from a chrysalis lump, and on top of everything else it can fly! I'm trying to imagine the change in the world view of the caterpillar (assuming caterpillars have world views).

Wasn't that chrysalis green to start out? Did it stay green for a while and turn brown when it was cast off?

Maybe you should set up a web cam so you can monitor the butterfly emergence while you're on jury duty.

You don't have to wait for 5 o'clock - the sun is definitely over the yardarm.

Claire

Yes, the chrysalis was on the parsley and matched himself to the parsley color. Last night about 8 I noticed that he looked darker but thought, no, can't be this soon because the pros said it takes 2-3 weeks. Moral to the story--don't believe everything you read on the web. This is the one that went into chrysalis in the picture above dated 8/11/16. The brown one looks a tad darker, so we'll see.

Maybe there was a reason for the 1/2 price sale. First time this has happened.

Jane

That is quite a feat for a finch, who probably thought it was in Nirvana at first, until it tried to get back out! I once found a red-breasted nuthatch in a hopper feeder, but I'd propped up the bottom of the window for some reason that escapes me now.

Your grass is really green!

Claire

Enough rain recently, thankfully. It is much greener than usual in August. Had to mow 4 days apart last week.

No rain here recently, maybe tonight.

Claire (sighing, close to a whimper)

The look said it.

Jane

Nothing like getting an urgent question when you're in the shower.

One of my two hummer feeders is also prone to ant invasions. It's a Hummzinger Highview like yours. I installed an Ant Moat and it makes a big difference - the ants have a hard time getting past it.

I was too lazy to go out and photograph it so this is the best I could do from my bedroom window.

Claire

harrumph. My husband said he saw a indigo bunting outside our kitchen window. We keep binoculars and a bird guide on the table. I have never ever seen one. Some of the birds are hard to identify. It looks like we have some juvenile blue birds. The swallows aren't careening around the yard like they did earlier in the summer. It's been pretty quiet.

Rabbits are still running rampant. From all the rabbit holes, literally everywhere, I imagine that the ground below our feet is one gigantic subterranean rabbit warren, all 2 acres of lawn and up in the woods.

Hummingbirds are drinking nectar like there is no tomorrow, and last night there was a chorus of what I think were two bears, although they sounded almost cat-like at times. I think they were just over the fence, quite close.

The frogs have discovered our water garden! With the drought, I'm sure our fish pool is the best water around. Our brook is dry. I'm hoping for some rain as fall draws nearer.

Wow! Sped! Love the pond. I wonder if the little real frog in his own way looks up to the big statue... that's a great picture! How large is that pool and do you keep the fish inside come winter? Like it all very much. You need a trail cam!

Jane

harrumph, indeed, defrost - you should have seen the indigo bunting too; they're lovely birds.

Those must have been pretty desperate frogs, spedigrees, when the brook went dry. I like the second pic with the frog peeping out warily from under the lily pad (or whatever the leaf is).

There's definitely a hint, although faint, of fall in the air and days are getting shorter. The regular hummers will probably be leaving in a few weeks but the migrants from farther north should still be stopping by.

Chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, but they usually peter out by the time they get here or they slide by to the north or south. I just counted and I have 7 (seven) bird baths out there. At the least the birds and critters have water to drink and bathe in.

Claire

Thanks Jane. The pool is a small sized kiddie pool. Actually I have two. When I change the water in the lily pond (fake water lilies) they go into the other pool which has more of a tropical ocean design. The small aquatic creatures are floating dog toys which are the frogs' preferred perch. (I had a lot of fun designing these two dioramas!) Bright colored artificial corals and underwater caves are hiding beneath the drink boat and inflatable bird. I have a pump in a plastic box with plastic tubing attached that aerates the water.

This winter the goldfish will come inside to live in large plastic feed tubs in our heated cellar. The frogs will find their way back to the brook to live under the mud, which I hope by then will have water. Otherwise I may decide to capture them and transport them to a pond or larger stream.

It's fun, it's pure and simple, it transports the imagination and oh, do we need that. Thanks, Marcie.

We sure do need that! Hubs is getting chemo and radiation and this forum is just too wonderful.

Pat - been down that road more than once, it's a tough one. From my spirit to yours, only the best to you both. :)

Those are wonderful frog rafts, spedigrees, and Pat, I hope you and your husband will float like frogs on rafts through the rapids and come out into calm and peaceful waters.

Claire

I'm so sorry, Pat, for what you and your husband are going though. I will keep a thought for a good outcome for him.

Echinacea: It's not just for colds. American goldfinch

I think this father house finch may stay away from the ladies after this summer. Almost September and he's still feeding kids.

Or perhaps the father finch is growing nostalgic about the kids growing up (cue Fiddler on the Roof)

Claire

Because of family issues, I haven't been here in quite a while except for quick looks and hitting the "Like" button. So lots of catching up.

Pat, I'm glad that this site offers you comfort, and I hope that positive energy comes to you and your husband. I really enjoyed your wonderful links, like that info about puffins at the Cape and reading about Margaret Morse Nice's work with song sparrows. That she wanted to be known as a scientist rather than just a housewife and that she stayed true to her goal throughout her life despite family responsibilities are truly admirable.

We haven't been at the river much until the other day. It was late in the afternoon and breezy, and so we took some wine down to the patio. My dh had the camera down and took some photos.

The young heron stopped by again to fish for dinner. I think the bend of the river as it passes the house provides nice shallow hunting.

A few ducks swam by. The heron gave them the old stink eye then went back to fishing for dinner when they passed.

The best were the sand pipers. They travel in little hordes and are hard to see because they blend into the dirt.

Really beautiful pics, Molie, your husband is a great photographer! I love the reflections of the ripples in the water.

Claire

Pat, we had a husband health crisis too this spring, and spending time on GW was the most pleasant diversion available. I didn't have the concentration to even watch TV. I hope you both weather the treatments well and come out the other side with optimistic outcomes. Maybe you can plant some bulbs this fall and spring will surprise you with beauty you created.

Book recommendation: The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman.

You New Englanders are the best.

Thanks, Pat, for the book recommendation, I downloaded a sample to my iPad. If the book left you wondering what kind of bird you would be, try this quiz below when you have nothing else to do. The Cornell site gets busy, but this should work.

what-birds-are-you-like?

I know the hummers are getting ready, ... you can just feel it.

This morning she took off straight down. How do they do that? What a sense of balance. Must have a built-in gyroscope.

Hope you guys are okay in the storm hitting you. (Don't you think it was supposed to be "Hermione" and someone left the o out by mistake?)

Jane, I am a Peregrine Falcon.

Be safe everyone.

Pat, I've been thinking the same thing about Hermine!

I didn't do the quiz, but I can guarantee that I am not fast enough or fierce enough to be a peregrine or a hummingbird! Perhaps a redtail who conserves energy by either soaring or perching to hunt, and doesn't mind staying around for the cold.

Right now I'm visiting my mom who lives in an apartment within sight of Lake Erie in a busy city part of Cleveland. I'm amazed by the birds I am seeing - swifts or swallows a bit before dusk above me as I watched the sun setting from a seventh floor deck, a variety of sparrows and other songbirds in the trees around the building, and not a pigeon or gull yet. Sort of counteracting my prejudices about city birding!

I took the quiz and I'm a Raven, which is good because I've always admired ravens ("What bird are you most like" possible types). Maybe I need to put a raven totem pole in my garden....

Hermine or Hermione, she's been mostly a dud here in Plymouth. We're just on the outskirts of most of the activity and there's been a lot of blustery wind and a little over half an inch of rain so far. As usual the weather forecasters first talked about over an inch of rain and then backed off as the storm got closer. I kept saying I don't care about the wind and the storm surge, but we need RAIN and MORE RAIN! Ah well, at least we got some. I know the saying 'be careful what you wish for' but a hurricane that passes safely offshore but spreads its rain shield over the coast would be welcome.

Claire

I, too, thought Hermine was a mistake...still is IMO. Kept thinking Hermione Gingold and picturing her and Maurice Chevalier together singing. Age showing?

Pat, I took the test 3 times and still came out a Red Tailed Hawk. Took it one more time after a full supper and a glass of wine, and I became a Mallard Duck. So there ya go!

Safflower seed is not just for the birds. For several nights, it was just the doe. Last night she had a beau.

Jane

(who ended up with 200+ pictures of herself trimming bushes, lawn mowing and weed whacking because I forgot to turn the trail cam off. The deer make a much better picture.)

Who needs Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer to light the way when Santa could have a team of deer with glowing eyes?

Claire

I'm an American Kestrel!

We had some company this weekend who liked to see around a campfire at night. We could hear the whip-poor-will at dusk. My husband and another person saw some birds fly when it was quite late but they weren't sure if they were birds or bats. The woman who write the nature article for our monthly town newsletter had nighthawks, maybe 200, swirling over their farm for more than an hour. She had never seen such a sight before even though she is an avid bird watcher. The hummingbird is still here. I grew scarlet runner beans on a trellis by our window and the flowers are one of her favorites. Recent small flocks of young robins have been hopping around our lawn.

And his dapper self, as usual.

Claire

I hurt my foot!

BCC foot cramp

Jane

Poor little guy! That's a great series of pictures of the foot examination. I suppose birds could get cramps, and they can't massage them out like we can - a trade-off, we don't have wings and can't fly but we do have hands to massage away cramps. I feel a little bit better now about not being able to fly.

Claire

He knew who to come to for lots of love, didn't he.

I haven't seen many catbirds and orioles at the jam feeders lately, and this morning the containers weren't emptied by the raccoon, as usually happens.

Maybe this is the reason why? That's a bunch of bald-faced hornets plus a few yellow-jackets feasting in the jam. I can see that this might be a deterrent for the birds and raccoon - the dessert might sting me!

I also noticed ants swarming today in the bluestone path. Some birds migrate thousands of miles - ants seem to be happy with a few feet now and then.

I looked again a little later and the ants had mostly finished their move and were back underground.

Claire

Claire - Your photos are the only place I've seen ants swarming. Thanks for sharing.

(edited for clarity)

NHBabs: I see the ants swarming regularly, probably every few months, and always in the bluestone path. When I've pulled up the pavers to regrade I've seen extensive tunnels so there's a thriving colony or colonies under there. Mostly I just try not to step on them - the swarms don't last for long aboveground and don't affect me in any unpleasant way.

What’s with the ant swarms in sidewalk cracks in summer?

Claire

Also, these are the little pavement ants - a different species from the bigger ants that climb onto hummingbird and jelly feeders.

Or were you talking about the hornets and wasps in the jelly feeders?

Claire

This isn't a great picture but this guy was sitting on my fence here in West Hartford this afternoon.

Impressive hawk there, Bob Lem! I'm not sure of the identification but the tail's too short for an accipiter, so not Cooper's or Sharp-shinned Hawk. One of the buteos maybe?

Claire

Nice hawk photo!! I think it's most likely an immature red-tailed hawk, though not sure. The striping on the tail with a slightly lighter end stripe, blotchy brown and white back, and general shape all say red-tail to me, but I am not very familiar with red-shouldered hawks.

Just sitting in the pond blowing bubbles.

Wiggling its toes in the mud, no doubt.

Claire

Hey, Claire, the thread is up to 143 posts and is fairly slow loading here. Would you consider starting a new thread? Thanks!

Oops, sorry, folks -I haven't been paying attention to the count. I'll set up a new thread ASAP.

Thanks for reminding me,

Claire