Refreshing Rhubarb and Strawberry Galette
Last week I started to think about rhubarb, and felt inspired to bake a rhubarb and strawberry galette if rhubarb was available at our...
Leave the leaves for birds and insects
Remember that some birds need leaves and twigs for summer nesting. Many beneficial insects also need fallen leaves. Read more here:...
California poppies and asters in bloom
Growing in a corner of our front yard is a lovely patch of California poppies Eschscholzia californica, California coastal poppies...
Leaf cutting bees handiwork
There must be some leaf cutting bee Megachilidae nests near by, judging from all of the circular cutouts in these leaves. You can see...
One of our first Monarch caterpillars this year
Here is one of several Monarch caterpillars currently munching on our milkweed. This one is on the leaf of a native Showy milkweed. The...
Butterflies visiting the garden
It's so wonderful to see the Navajo fleabane flourishing again in spite of insufficient winter and spring rains. It's even better when...
Abandoned House finch nest looks poofier
Hmmm, wonder what's going on with the abandoned nest. Now it looks poofier with a lot of new nesting material which could be dried grass....
Most native bees nest in the ground
Whenever you have the opportunity, teach people about your native bees. https://blog.nature.org/science/2019/08/19/focus-on-native-bees-n...
Some plants that actually thrive in clay soil
As I mention in my posts, the soil in our yard is hard-pan clay. This makes it very challenging to have plants that actually flourish in...
