The Clockwork Calendar

The weather folks announced Rainy Season is scheduled to begin this week. So far the clouds have rolled in on schedule every afternoon along with occasional thunder but no actual rain, yet.

In anticipation, the builders not only put up the under-roof on the new house across the way last week, but also managed to nail down the tar paper covering and install the windows so the interior is mostly waterproof now (although there are no doors either on the house or garage). The interior framing is installed as well but I haven't seen anyone around in close to a week now.

Meanwhile, while we're waiting for the rain:

There are butterflies everywhere. Mostly sulphurs and zebras of various shades of black and yellow. I saw a beautiful copper colored one this morning, like a small, dark Monarch, that blended in well with the dead leaves.

We have several buckets set up along the front walkway, three or four with tomatoes and a couple with peppers. We picked a couple of cherry tomatoes already and there's a nice bell pepper that'll be ready in a day or two. Others are ripening and more flowers are blooming every day. I've already chopped up a couple of ripe mangoes and there are more turning yellow-red. We have several green ones my brother brought in but I don't know if they fell or if he just picked them unripe. They're starting to soften so I'll cut them up and see if they're edible as is or if I have to cook them. So far this year, they're all on the smallish side but, if the rains do come as predicted, they could still grow more.

The bucket of sticks in water by the front door, which is just one of several scattered along the side of the house, has come to life after a couple of years and  seems to be blossoming into frangipani. As a matter of fact, they all are. The bougainvillea is in full bloom as is the desert rose and a dozen or so lilies between the house and the walkway. And the new coconut palm and banana tree have both outgrown their pots. (The banana's easy but the coconut will have to be placed far enough from where people and cars normally go so falling fruit doesn't kill or injure someone or damage a vehicle.)

The only downside right now is that the clouds have brought humidity to go with the heat and so we've had to close up the house again after a couple of glorious weeks and turn on the A/C.

Update: Right after posting this the clouds rolled in, the lightning struck and thunder roared and the rain came pelting down in sheets so thick you can't see the road out front. Rainy Season, right on time.

Miscellanea: Fauna, Aquatic, Aerial and Terrestrial

It looks like the Mohawk Reef has become a magnet for whale sharks. A second one was spotted there just this past week. It's also become a magnet for just about every other fish within twenty miles.

And it seemed the great turtle egg-laying season from earlier this year might have been compromised by Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Isaac but, then again, maybe not.

The sulphur butterflies are all over the yard, about the same size and color as the new lemons on the lemon tree. A few viceroys and some others I haven't been able to identify yet are also hanging about.

  

   

The abundance of lizards would seem to indicate that the Cuban Tree Frogs have not overwhelmed our little ecological niche.

And then, of course, there is the cat who has become sleek and fat and demanding, training us to her extremely large vocabulary of grunts, whistles, chirps and mewls as she explains that her food dish needs topping off and her water bowl requires freshening and the door needs to be held open right now while she decides whether to sit on the cushioned chair outside under the oak or remain sprawled on the living room carpet.

Location, Location, Location

We broke out the binoculars yesterday.

A pair of mockingbirds have decided the amenities we offer, constantly refilled and refreshed birdbath, occasional seed balls, varied shrubbery and a never-ending supply of fresh organic lawn insects, make for a neighborhood in which they would like to raise their family.

My brother noticed them building their nest in a large bush about forty feet from the back door. He shredded some string and hung the lint on a small succulent just outside the lanai. The male mockingbird took a whole beak full back to line the nest. With the glasses we can see them fluffing and primping the insides.

So, not only will we have mockingbird song right outside all summer long, we'll get to watch them raise their babies, too.

(Also saw a black-and-pale-yellow zebra butterfly outside my window. A couple of sulphurs are already flitting around. Should be a good summer.)

Butterfly Garden

We've talked about putting in a butterfly garden. I think we're halfway there already without even trying.

The Monarchs are migrating right now and occasionally stop by even though there's no milkweed here that I can find.

 

We have several smaller Viceroys living in the yard.

And a couple of yellowish Cloudless Sulphurs hang out around the lemon tree.

There are several other less spectacular moths and butterflies out there right now I still need to identify. If we can pick the right plants for them (and others still to be attracted) maybe next year we can sit outside in a silent cloud of colorful wings.

Don't even get me started on the dragonflies with the four inch wingspans.