Straw bale mushrooms

I've tentatively identified these as dog stinkhorn mushrooms. I might to to get out earlier tomorrow to catch them in the act of growing, before they shrivel or get trampled by some critter.

Chipmunk

We're coming for you, Strahd

Unmatched: Battle of Legends

Played my older daughter Unmatched: Battle of Legends. She was Alice, I was Sinbad. She slaughtered me in about 5 rounds.

I just watched the shadow of a preening hummingbird, cast on a small maple leaf by the morning light.

Meeting doodle

No coffee shop game nights nowadays

Here's Heine Brothers Coffee on Bardstown Road, where in better days we had board game nights. Carry-out only now, of course. Jen and got picked up a couple of drinks then walked over to visit some friends nearby (in their front yard). 

Next drawing

I'm always glad when I can start inking in a drawing.

Clue: The Great Museum Caper

Played 6 3-player games last night. Thief escaped 2 times, I think -- once with 1 painting, once with 3. 

Keyforge

I finally got to play a couple of nights ago, dad versus daughter. The decks were The Celebrated Architect against G. D. Fangleaf of the Overrated Graveyard. The Architect won, but barely.  

Mud dauber, willow leaf beetle

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Milkweed tiger moth caterpillars

I haven't seen any monarch caterpillars, but these fellas are going to town.

I went out again a short while ago, back to the same spot, and saw the comet again. I figured I should try, since it's so wonderfully clear this evening. Now I've seen it in the morning and I've seen it at night.

Wren

Also, weekend highlight from yesterday: I was sitting on my bed when a house wren landed on my narrow window ledge about two feet from my head. I don't think she could see me through the window. She sat there are squawked for a couple of minutes before darting away again. Since I love watching the wrens in my yard, it was a real joy to see one so close.

NEOWISE

I have my workday alarm set for 5:50. This morning I happened to wake up early, around 4:40, perhaps because I actually went to bed at a reasonable hour for a change. Since I was awake, I decided to go outside to see if I could spot Comet NEOWISE.

I took my binoculars and walked around my yard, but with the trees and the lights from my neighbors' houses, I couldn't see anything. I therefore decided to drive a little way to see if I could find a spot.

I stopped at the back of a cemetery just outside my subdivision. There was still light pollution, but not as many bright lights directly adjacent; and the trees were more manageable. I wasn't sure exactly in which direction or exactly how high to look, so I blundered around for a few minutes. Finally, I made a concentrated effort to determine exactly which way was NE, and focused my effort there. After that, it only took me about ten seconds of scanning the sky with my binoculars to spot it.

Once I knew where it was, I could see it with my naked eyes, but I never would have noticed it, nor been able to tell it was a comet, without first seeing it with binoculars. It was quite cool, though, being only the 3rd (I think) comet I've seen.

Blackberry iris

Bloomed today.

Got in 3 games of Azul on my birthday, which was fun. 

#3

Playing with WC pencils

An eastern black swallowtail enjoying my coneflowers.

Culver's Root

Outing

Ice cream on a very hot Sunday

Azul, this afternoon

Played my daughters; both beat me soundly. Even while Etch-a-Sketching.

More bees

Bee and lavender

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