Middle Season #19 2026

 

Top two at Fullersburg: bellflower and blue vervain,  in front yard: coneflower and (just beginning) cardinal flower

Wednesday July 1

1. So humid that last night the film over the fireplace was fogged. This morning ing it’s stuck to the glass with the moisture. 

Thursday July 2

1. Locust tree by tracks and school has a curled pods growing
2. Watching the motion of the locust tree, especially along horizontal, lower branch above the bench infield Park
3. Empty soccer field empty jungle gym in Field Park on this 94° day
4. Beautiful color of bee balm at 42nd st. 
5. Tiny replanted cactus is regrowing buds. And in the same pot, a tiny perfect mushroom popped up. 
6. Iris by driveway rebloomed. 
7. Yellow Lillie’s by driveway full blooming now. 
8. Bee balm has some musty white stuff on leaves. 

Friday, July 3 -

1. Salt Creek very high muscular and rushing after last night and today’s rainf
2. Milkweeds passed their peak, but still blooming still attracting these
3. New purple flower, I took a picture of that that is maybe the new primary color. Blue vervain according to Google 
4. Pinkish bee balm smelling lovely when I crushed the leaves also growing in the forest edges
5. We’ve moved from four days of the mid 90s high dew points into the 70s into the time where thunderstorms on forecasted pop-up in violent storms
6. A couple larger sticks go by in the swollen salt Creek and now an entire dead tree 20’ 25 feet long
7. The sound of South Creek pushing through the leaves of branches that are now submerged and now I see this tree that’s been cracked in half and the top of the tree now submerged in the water
8. Football sized turtle along the path. Long tail, probably snapping turtle?
9. Several craters gouges dug by the flowing rain. into the path gravel by sh 7. 
10. Temp rising now 86/75dp
11. Green black walnuts knocked to the path from the storm. Still attaches to branch. 
12. Down along rainbow bridge in the north side, the water just a few feet from the path, but all of the grassy area between the path and the creek now underwater
13. Similarly down by the fenced area fenced property on the east side all of the area between the path and the creek swamped in water
14. 4:45 PM first cicada of the summer that I’ve heard up on the hill of Fuller
15. Were there rocks boulders placed along the edges of the salt Creek? Because I can’t see any now.
16. See robyn grab a worm from the ground fly up to a low or horizontal branch and feed it to a slightly smaller robyn who gulp it down and then flies to a nearby branch
17. No ducks or geese on the forceful water 

Sat. July 4

1. HBs come to feeder the morning after another storm. 5:19 5:29. Overcast so silhouette 
2. Oak trees growing small acorns
3. First couple hosta flowers opening

Sunday July 5

1. 7:43. Below HB feeder. Baby Robin. Standing on brick that holds up metal post. Feathers on back - with white flecks. Orange feathers on belly. No tail feathers yet … or just buds. Can’t tell about wings. Maybe fell from maple in storm last night? Eyes alert. Wings not developed. It poops on brick. Then heads offf. Black splotches on orange breast. 

Monday July 6

1. Library book by eno 
2. First cherry tomato tomato yesterday
3. At Bemis - redheaded woodpecker rests on a oak tree for a minute two minutes, not feeding, then flies off through the forest and lands on the trunk of another tree. Doesn’t look like it’s feeding.
4. A couple big trees blown over and still green on the forest floor from the storm is over the last few days
5. First day I’ve seen more than an individual monarch butterfly and yes, the milkweeds are blooming right now
6. July 7

1. Field park with fourth fireworks tubes and scorched patches of lawn
2. California buckeye seeds turn pear colored. Brownish. In Gilbert park 
3. Cicadas in overlapping song. Growing. 
4. Daytime firefly clinging to a 3” weed in the shade of a locust tree
5. Park is just cicadas one quieter cardinal and me. No tennis pickleball baseball kids on playground. At 6:17 pm. 

Friday July 10

1. 25 min ride. 4.25 miles from home to FB. 
2. 4:50. Grasshoppers. And dead trees in creek. 
3. 5. Shelter 3. Blue herons. Blue jays. Bee balm. Wind up in cottonwoods. Buck eyes. Two special needs men and their dad indigo bunting or bluebird. 
4. 5:10. Shelter 8. Helicopters. Maybe linden. Or . Basswood. Riding down into salt creek. Patch of blue flowers. Bee inside one (I have pic). Multiple trees down. Cracked in half and uprooted. 
5. 5:20 over the flat bridge at the bottom of the hill   Insect circles all over the surface of the salt Creek. Perfusion of long green beans, some 18 inches or 24 inches long on the catalpa trees.stop to take. A picture of midges on water. 
6. 5:30. Almost to flat bridge. Dad and daughter in bikes. Surprising number of oak leaves on the path. Cardinal long travel against the green field then across the path. Butterflies.  Monarch. Black ones. Enormous hawk on dead tree overlooking old famed area. 
7. 5:40. Just short of the York rd bridge. Stopped. For hawk watching. Maybe cardinal flower down by confluence. Many monarches. 
8. 5:50. Entrance of FB. Tiny bunny wind picking up. Not cool but cooling. crosses path. 80/68 DP 
9. 
   
10. At some point yesterday/ I saw a small moon in the blue sky/ somewhere to the south and west. / I know it is waning.