![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_2dac52d96aac43a4a4bc9bcde4b71d71~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_2dac52d96aac43a4a4bc9bcde4b71d71~mv2.webp)
![Sandhill Skipper on Lambs Ears](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_2dac52d96aac43a4a4bc9bcde4b71d71~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_2dac52d96aac43a4a4bc9bcde4b71d71~mv2.webp)
Sandhill Skipper on Lambs Ears
Another new sighting in our garden, a Sandhill Skipper Polites sabuleti. How cute it is! This butterfly was flying around the native...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_120e915cd55d4ca9953797573dc9be5b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_120e915cd55d4ca9953797573dc9be5b~mv2.webp)
![Pipevine Swallowtail on the Verbena De La Mina](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_120e915cd55d4ca9953797573dc9be5b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_120e915cd55d4ca9953797573dc9be5b~mv2.webp)
Pipevine Swallowtail on the Verbena De La Mina
Wow, what luck! Today in the late afternoon I happened to look out the window at the front yard. I saw constant fluttering around the...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_1ea483c568f6454aaa66a47fcdc7216d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_1ea483c568f6454aaa66a47fcdc7216d~mv2.webp)
![Spring blooms and secret gardens](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_1ea483c568f6454aaa66a47fcdc7216d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_1ea483c568f6454aaa66a47fcdc7216d~mv2.webp)
Spring blooms and secret gardens
Every day I poke around our garden, looking for new blooms. This is what greets the eye when one of our back gates is opened. The plants...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_b25c8170226e484ba69cb633beb4ec40~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_b25c8170226e484ba69cb633beb4ec40~mv2.webp)
![Ivory Banded Digger Bees](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_b25c8170226e484ba69cb633beb4ec40~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_b25c8170226e484ba69cb633beb4ec40~mv2.webp)
Ivory Banded Digger Bees
This afternoon an Ivory Banded Digger Bee male Anthophora californica spent a lot of time around the Pozo Blue salvia plant. As you can...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_e6592eeb13544ecb8968649f779b7ca2~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_e6592eeb13544ecb8968649f779b7ca2~mv2.webp)
![Hummingbirds visiting](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_e6592eeb13544ecb8968649f779b7ca2~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_e6592eeb13544ecb8968649f779b7ca2~mv2.webp)
Hummingbirds visiting
With all the plants starting to bloom, more pollinators, including hummingbirds are visiting. This is an Anna's hummingbird sipping...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_72cc878dd044406286404208c2be1a93~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_72cc878dd044406286404208c2be1a93~mv2.webp)
![Northern mockingbirds are such characters](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_72cc878dd044406286404208c2be1a93~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_72cc878dd044406286404208c2be1a93~mv2.webp)
Northern mockingbirds are such characters
This Northern mockingbird landed in the native patch in the afternoon sun. He was very vigilant, looking for a snack. As he marched...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_5f7ab7e6938f42c4bb654018a89bb6e4~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_5f7ab7e6938f42c4bb654018a89bb6e4~mv2.webp)
![Just watching the bees](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_5f7ab7e6938f42c4bb654018a89bb6e4~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_5f7ab7e6938f42c4bb654018a89bb6e4~mv2.webp)
Just watching the bees
It's been very warm for the past couple of the days. Accordingly, the California poppies are literally popping up everywhere in the...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_1d1f733ed24a4dd99bfa6f1df0e244bd~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_1d1f733ed24a4dd99bfa6f1df0e244bd~mv2.webp)
![Butterfly visitors](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_1d1f733ed24a4dd99bfa6f1df0e244bd~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_1d1f733ed24a4dd99bfa6f1df0e244bd~mv2.webp)
Butterfly visitors
Oh butterflies, how we missed you! Here a Common Hairstreak Strymon melinus is checking the blossom of a ground cover plant next to the...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_785775d8f0d04fb9ba630c8850646a03~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_785775d8f0d04fb9ba630c8850646a03~mv2.webp)
![Vivid Dancer](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_785775d8f0d04fb9ba630c8850646a03~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_785775d8f0d04fb9ba630c8850646a03~mv2.webp)
Vivid Dancer
Today I observed for the first time this year a Vivid Dancer Argia vivida. It is a female in the pale gynomorphic form, which is black...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_edff995d594a4191991fb91f4ddecf70~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/1eb7ff_edff995d594a4191991fb91f4ddecf70~mv2.webp)
![Bees on the Chiapas Sage](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_edff995d594a4191991fb91f4ddecf70~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_312,h_234,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/1eb7ff_edff995d594a4191991fb91f4ddecf70~mv2.webp)
Bees on the Chiapas Sage
You know that Spring truly is here when different bees arrive. This is a Habropoda digger bee female foraging for pollen in a blossom on...