The Summer Long-Horned Bees are Back!
Look who was in a cosmos cupcake blossom this weekend. I was so happy to see this Summer Long-Horned female bee Melissodes robustior....
Success with two male monarchs
Oh, how lovely he is. Late this morning both monarchs emerged in good shape. They are both males. Monarch male number one emerged at...
Surprise visitors at the bird bath today
We rarely see hooded orioles in our garden here, usually once a year. Imagine my surprise when I happened to look through a window at the...
Anna's Hummingbird feasting
We have a lot of plants to provide the hummingbirds with nectar and some areas of the patio seem to have ended up being mostly for their...
Time to raise the monarch caterpillars
Good grief! It's already time to raise the monarch caterpillars. I posted pictures last week of a couple of tiny monarch caterpillars I...
Here comes the honey bee, straight for a Blue Thimble flower globe
It so much fun to observe bees and butterflies visiting native plants in our garden. Here is a honey bee heading straight for a Blue...
Hairstreak Butterfly on the Ribes
How delightful to spot in our native plant garden my first hairstreak butterfly Satyrium californica of the year. I was quietly sitting...
Young House Finch Visitor
The house finches have been back in the neighborhood for about a month. They are some of the most frequent visitors of our makeshift...
What's not to love about the Bird's-Eye Gilia?
The lovely Bird's-Eye or Tricolor Gilia is a lovely California native. It is an annual and heavy nectar producer. Last year I purchased...
