We had some pretty good rain today, and a bit of wind as well. I spent most of my day on calls and working on getting up to speed on some new work I am doing, but with the wet weather, I wasn’t too disappointed to be dry. Temperatures were in the 50s, and what time I did spend outside it seemed reasonably pleasant.
The taller fireweed growing near one corner of the house fell over, presumably the added weight of wet leaves combined with wind (and maybe softening of the stem due to water?) contributed. The tallest reached up to the gutters, so I’m thinking it was at least 8 feet tall.
The Tree Swallows finished leaving the nest sometime this morning. I saw one flying up to the nestbox between 9 and 10am, but didn’t have time to step out and look. By the time I was done with a call around noon, they were all gone. I don’t remember when the female started laying eggs, but they were definitely working on the nest consistently in mid-May, so I think sometime after that.