I’m late getting this information out, but we had another 1-1/2+ inches of rain on July 8, a pretty strong thunderstorm. That brought our two day total to just over 3 inches. I suppose that has solved the drought problem for now, and the trees seem very relieved. Especially the dogwoods, as they are rather drought sensitive.
There was a bit of a stir in the birding community when a family of Common Mergansers were located on the river at Stanley Rapids. This is apparently a breeding first for Georgia, and the records do indicate that the species is expanding into the Southern Appalachian region. I can’t recall seeing any other merganser here except for the Hooded Merganser.
In the past three or four days, the katydids have reached full song. They are pretty loud, so it seems that they had a good crop this year. I love those little fellows, so it’s good to see.