Good morning everyone! It is cloudy, windy and cooler this morning once again. We are supposed to get showers and thunderstorms today. That would be why I am so stiff and sore this morning. That kind of weather always bothers my arthritis and back. That will slow down the packing a bit today for sure.

The birds are busy this morning as are the chipmunks. The blue jays have just arrived for the second time this morning too. All the grackles that were here, which was about 100, have now gone. Many of our birds have now headed, or are in the process of heading, south for the winter. Time flies.

Hoary Comma butterfly. They go a long way north and are rare in our area.

Summer is so short around here. But it is beautiful. And with all the rain we have had, everything remains so lush and beautiful. Unfortunately the rain is not going far enough north to really hit all those forest fires. So they continue to burn and send smoke far from the fires.

Smoke moved into our area again yesterday, very thick smoke and strong smelling. Once again it bothered my eyes and throat. At times it was hard to see, so I had to stop packing. The smoke is still here this morning but is not as bad. It is supposed to get worse later today though.

Marsh Bluet Damselfly, male. These are small, just over 1 inch (25mm) long and nearly as thin as a needle.

There is some light rain right now. Too bad. I was hoping to do something outside this morning. Guess I will work inside instead. Nice to have options like that. Yesterday I went out for a short time to see about some pics.

While taking a pic of what looked like a wasp, though I think it is something else, I felt something against my elbow. I turned to see one of those huge Northern Paper Wasps right beside my elbow. So i slowly, and quickly, removed myself from that location.

Marsh Bluet Damselfly, female.

How did I move slow and quick at the same time? In a situation like that it is quite easy. Then the sun, which had come out for about 15 minutes, disappeared, so I came back inside. Well, time for more coffee and more packing. Have a great day everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.