It felt like old times today: a walk to the millpond, a few minutes pulling beaver-deposited sticks out of the spillway, a scan for migrating birds and new species of Damselflies, the Powdered Dancers in particular, and, of course, a search for the special flowers of early August. To me, one of the most special of all is the Cardinal Flower, a blossom whose red is so intense that even I, red-green colorblind though I am, can see it. Well, most of it. The first of these glorious Lobelia cardinalis blooms are just out, and while I'm sure they've already been visited by Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, butterflies, Hoverflies, and Hummingbird Moths, these particular stunners were not attracting pollinators when I watched and photographed them. But they'll be dazzling the natural world for at least a couple more weeks, so I'll just have to make another old-times visit.