Another hot day today, but it has culminated in storms that I hope will bring some cooler weather. This morning wasn’t too bad, and the horses were happily grazing when I came out of the house. Flies must have been bad at some point, though, because Stone had whipped his tail into a braid, which took quite a while to untangle. You can see the tangle in this picture.
Rebecca came to help with the garden, and we made a project of clearing the east side of the stream. The pondless water feature is turned off for now, as there are still some problems to be solved. Connie will be returning within the next day or two.
There was some good energy today, stars aligned, maybe Rebecca helped with that. We found a beautiful female box turtle along the stream, we saw the first Monarch butterfly of the year, and the catbird came for a visit. A red letter day. Also red faces, with the heat!
Now we can see the perennial hibiscus! 
Rebecca – still smiling despite the heat 
Monarch butterfly on larkspur 
Catbird
The turtle was magnificent, and I brought her some melon. She was thrilled with the cantaloupe, but wasn’t much interested in the watermelon.
A distinctive chip on her shell 
Cantaloupe melon! 
I had quite good luck with bird pictures today. Some days are certainly better than others.
Squirrel Nutkin visits and a red bellied woodpecker photobombs 
Catbird in flight 
A couple of pals – titmouse and downy woodpecker 
Thirsty tufted titmouse 
Tanager and woodpecker at the suet
Speaking of woodpeckers, and the bird strike yesterday – our friend Brett was here, and he said the bird likely survived the crash in part because it was a woodpecker, and their brains are designed to take knocks, because of the pecking. Seriously. Apparently, scientists are studying woodpecker brains to improve headgear for football players!
Special bird brain 
Much force bangs on the brain from that bill
As evening drew near, Harry noticed a deer and fawn crossing the pasture. There are too many of them, but they are beautiful, and very sweet. The fawn was gamboling and learning to use its new legs.
One of the advantages in being married to an artist is portraits drawn in dust on the car. Rebecca reminded me to take a picture, which was good advice, since it is now pouring rain, cleaning the cars and destroying the works of art.
The dogs are very unhappy about tonight’s storms, but Jane and I are relieved that the ring will be watered and no dust tomorrow!
Harry comforts Weedy
Stay safe, stay well. Peace.
Great turtle and rear window pictures!
What a great wildlife encounter day. Thanks for all the wonderful pics!
Dust on a car never looked so good!
Wonderful, all of it! The artful sketches should always be photographed- they could make a show of their own!
Great photos. Maybe I call sell them! Do you keep them in Dropbox? Tell Harry I met with the new soccer team and pitched his work. Hope they bite. Right now doing some framing but hope
to get lots of business down the road.
I don’t keep pictures in Dropbox, but Harry knows how to use it, so we can chat about it sometime. I am very flattered!!