That's life (and death) in the slow lane

I wonder how many times the checkout clerk at the grocery store has to listen to the same complaints about the weather? Nothing but hot hot hot all day long, and once you've covered the heat, you can move on to the humidity.

I've been watching the bottlebrush buckeye finally start to bloom and today I decided to go outside and see what sorts of pollinators I could photograph--but first I had to stand around and wait for the camera's lens to adjust to the outdoor temperature. The minute I stepped out the door, the lens fogged up. 

Only a few of the bottlebrushes are blossoming, so I stood near a cluster and waited for the pollinators to come to me. No hummingbird moths so far although I saw one this morning at one of our flowerpots on the porch. I did, however, enjoy watching a zebra swallowtail flit from one flower to the next, never alighting anywhere for long. I saw some wasps and bees but didn't hear the incessant buzzing sound that surrounds that bush when it's fully in bloom. A day or two from now it'll be alive with buzzing things.

Meanwhile, some of the denizens of our demesne are no longer alive and buzzing--or clucking, as the case may be. A raccoon ravaged the chicken run the other night, escalating the ongoing man vs. raccoon war. The chicken run has been reinforced and raccoon traps have been distributed. Current score: a half dozen missing or dead chickens and one deceased raccoon.

Finally, our son returns tonight from his two weeks in South Africa. I asked him to smuggle out a giraffe but how would he fit it in his carry-on bag? He'll be exhausted after spending the better part of 24 hours in transit, but it will be good to see the social butterfly coming home to roost.