stemwinder

Glad you think that they are early too. Thought I was going nuts. Usually don't hear any until late in the month. Likely the last week. Interesting that they overlap with the lightning bugs which are still around.Insert other media

Heard my first katydid tonight. Yakking in the tree outside my Apartment. Seems a bit early for them, but the times are crazy.

That is entirely believable. I've imitated birds and occasionally they've looked into my Apt to check it out. Then: Oh! it's that joker! and fly away. BTW, heard my first katydid tonight. Seems a bit early for them, but the times are crazy.

The owls must be happy too!

Got around a quarter inch, and one thunderous boom at around 1AM.

Since I've been blathering, I'll bump this one down. interesting that little pool of cold water off Delmarva. The SST may not have been affected by such a paltry storm, but the aquifers are happy, I'm sure. At least here in NJ.

You are hopefully right about the fluctuations in the firefly population. Someone else has put pix on Facebook showing them in the Middletown area of NY. Abundant there too. Magical creatures for sure. EDIT - it's after 9 PM, and the fireflies are around, in abundance. Even picked one off my screen, to avoid it flying around the apartment. I stand corrected, and am glad of it.

The English sparrows make a lot of noise in the dawn hours. They are very gregarious, and incredibly tenacious birds. Not related to the song sparrow I mentioned elsewhere. I have much respect for letter carriers at any time. BTW, those are great neighborhoods. Someone took a photo of an old IND R4 train which at the time was running the D line to Coney Island. That's me in 1970, joyriding maybe to the Botanic Garden. I was renting a dump on upper broadway at the time. Someone took this photo. You never know... They ran these old R cars into the ground, and I wish that they had been overhauled for 20 more years of service.

Japanese beetles. My grandmother grew roses in our Jersey City backyard, and they were a real problem there. This was back in the 40's.

Wow. I may have heard a coyote now and then around here, at night. More likely I heard foxes. Unearthly sounds of them fighting, no doubt. I have new windows in my condo, and hear less now as a result. Another degree of separation from the outside world. In September the hooting of the owl is often heard. By then the windows are open. Also the strange cry of the screech owl. Like a baby human, almost.

Thanks - I did not realize the possible connection to the deer overpopulation. Everything is so interconnected. Deer are everywhere here in Central NJ. BTW another songbird I am missing is the Song Sparrow. A plus (for me, if the city dwellers will forgive me) is that the English sparrow is seldom seen around forested areas. OTOH, I have much respect for these tough little critters in the unforgiving urban environment.

I'm lucky to live where it's GREEN. However, I miss NYC very much. You may be close enough to get to the Promenade, overlooking the East River. Haven't been there since the 60's, but it is one of Brooklyn's under appreciated gems, I think. Due to close soon, I understand. Stayed in a loft on Atlantic Ave Summer of 1978, NYC was really broken down in those days. My host would have dinner on his back deck. Railroad trees were his oasis. I don't remember well enough, but I'll bet there were cicadas too.

When I hear the katydids, my summer is complete. Too bad it keeps getting hotter. One thing I miss big time is the song of the Wood Thrush, in the woods nearby. They seem to be gone locally,. Used to be a lot of little bunnies around . People feed the feral cats, so enough said.

Speaking of insects, fireflies have been scarcer this year in the lawn under my deck. Fewer insects in general, I think. I heard the first cicada just minutes ago. Guessing it has been snatched up already. Im thinking that some cicadas sing in the twilight, and others in the heat of the day, where they make up whole choruses. When I hear that, I know that we're deep in Summer, heat or no heat. The 17 year variety will emerge around here next spring. They emerged in heaps, last time, Spring 2004. Their high pitched sound is nonstop during the few weeks they are around. They are amazing. (The birds will be happy.)

That's a great loop. Yeah, Sandy came in from the east, and it all took forever. No power. No heat. Almost November. This one was much more benign. I did not like Sandy at all, no thank you.

Ouch. Am guessing that it's an assassin bug. Beneficial, they say. A large group of insects, and some are downright nasty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduviidae has more info on the group of insects this belongs to. Nice picture. OOPS - sorry I did not see the great reply posted above.

It looks a bit like Sandy, with that easterly fetch to the north. I don't have fond memories of Sandy, but this one was fun, if you did not have to be out there. The aquifers will be grateful.

Wondering if the pool chlorine kills the virus. I hate the stuff, but that's a plus, if true.

These cells have a habit of parting, like the Red Sea - when they cross the canal here. Not complaining. Have just enough lately. Don't want too much. Just keep the aquifers full, please.

Thanks - that's a big help. I'm probably located around where the "e" is in "Princeton" on that map. Mercer County is not on the list you provided with the Mt. Holly warning. I did experience the outflow winds noted on radar earlier. Weather has become less boring of late. . . PS meant to say: map shows the influx of nice (to me) ocean air that cooled us off over here, storm or no storm.

Thanks for that! Did Norman include any NJ counties? I'm in the Princeton/w Windsor area, and storms were passing by closely, but we got nary a drop. Of course, I'm in Mercer County. The NJ warning I saw did not have Mercer County, but the radar looked bad. I seemed to be in that big doughnut hole, and then cells started collapsing on radar. BTW, I've had some rain in the past week. Measured at least 2 inches, but the rain hits my deck broadside, so not sure how accurate that is. Thanks -

A cell just rolled through here in w Windsor. Over an inch of rain, enough thunder. No great wind.

It missed me in W Windsor. Got nudged westward and it looks to be dying over Bucks County.

I just left north Princeton, and a cell was bearing down hard. Now home in W Windsor, and I think that it will hit here. Means losing my poor DSL. Now it's being nudged westward - look out Bucks County. Edit - 9:47 -looks as though it is dying with the night.

I just left north Princeton, and it was bearing down hard. Home in W Windsor, and I think that it will hit here. Means losing my poor DSL. Edit 9:48 - Looks as though the cell got nudged westward and is dying in Bucks Co.