Gotcha!

I've been biding my time, waiting for the fledgling Red-bellied Woodpeckers to make their way down to the deck.  This morning, since I was up extra early, I planted myself quietly on the deck and waited.  Sure enough, down she came (big assumption on the gender, but I'm going with it).  She scrambled around a bit (see Extra for an out-take where she's holding on with one foot) but finally worked out the best position to get at the suet.  Sitting 10 feet from a baby woodpecker while drinking my morning tea - does it get any better?  One more shot HERE on Flickr showing their amazing tongue.  

To see an adult red-bellied woodpecker, see my journal entry for 22 May

It is somewhat cooler today but still crazy-humid with thunder booming all around.  The thunder put the kibosh on my plans to go out for a walk so I confined myself to the yard.  This time of year, that's not a big sacrifice since there is plenty to see here.  I discovered some interesting little caterpillars on my honeysuckle so have scooped up three of them, along with cuttings, put them in a butterfly enclosure and will wait to see what they become.  I think they'll be some sort of moth, but could be sawflies.  Time will tell.

Still less hummingbirds than usual, although there is plenty of chasing going on.  And, I finally heard baby titmice up in the trees this morning, being fed by parents - waiting for my first glimpse.  Spotted a Widow Skimmer dragon in my garden - first of the season.  Since I don't have a stream of pond here, they aren't a common yard ode.  

Let's see - what else?  Oh, a grass-carrying wasp is using one of the tubes in one of my bee houses - that was a cool discovery.  And I watched a potter wasp gathering mud in the garden to seal her nest hole.  The Diggers are continuing to do some excavation and hunting.  Every time I go out, I have a big, buzzy companion, which could be unnerving if I didn't know how docile they are.  

We have no plans to go see fireworks tonight - I am sensitive to noise and really don't care much for crowds, so we'll just tune in and watch the NYC display.  In our pajamas!  

Hubs starts his new job tomorrow - yay!

To my friends in the US, happy Independence Day; to everyone else, Happy Hump Day!

xo
Debbi