Dramatic Autumn Sunset
What dramatic sunsets we've been experiencing these past few days! And they aren't due to smoke particles in the air, because there...
Ah, bees
It's so good to still see many pollinators around, including bees and butterflies. Here is a Yellow-Face bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii...
Nuttall Woodpecker female in the Redwood Tree
Yesterday morning while I was clearing English ivy from our fence I heard a gently tapping. This happened when I was putting the cut...
Still visiting
Much to everyone's delight, there seems to be a population explosion of monarch butterflies in our neighborhood this autumn. Through...
Northern Mockingbird and the Black Jack Fig
We have a Black Jack Fig tree growing in a large container on our patio, next to the Meyer lemon tree. This variety of fig tree is a...
Native buckwheat still blooming and lovely
The native buckwheat plants are simply the best to grow in our hardpan California clay soil. The very lovely red buckwheat Eriogonum...
The White-Crowned Sparrows are back
Somehow I don't remember the White-Crowned sparrows arriving so soon in our garden, but according to the Audubon Society, this would be...
Birds in the Bath
The birdbath certainly is THE place to be, both for drinking and bathing. Although the bath isn't very large, the Western Scrub jays...
New feeding grounds for the monarch caterpillars
This certainly has been an exciting and sometimes stressful week. Let's just call it the Chasing Milkweed adventure. Our milkweed plants...
Mamma Monarchs
Several monarch butterflies visit the garden every day, all day, as long as there is daylight. They flutter by, making stops on lavender,...
