Starting native plants in the front yard
Yesterday we went to Annies Annuals https://www.anniesannuals.com/ to buy native plants for the front yard of our new home. I wanted to...
Moving on to develop another habitat
In a few weeks we will be living in another house. I am sad to leave the place that has been my home for the past 18 years, but it is...
The umber skippers
Now how can I not post more images of the lovely umber skippers... The umber skipper above is perched on a magenta coreopsis flower....
Leaf cutter bee in the rosemary hedge
Looking for the praying mantis this weekend, I observed this leaf cutter bee flying around the rosemary hedge, sipping on the nectar of...
A Bewick's wren
We hear the Bewick's wrens singing in the trees throughout the day, but they seem to only occasionally visit the backyard. It was a nice...
ooh, a praying mantis in the rosemary hedge!
I've seen walking sticks and grasshoppers in the garden, but never a praying mantis. But this past weekend, while photographing bees, I...
Indigo spires salvia and butterfly bush flowers
The indigo spires salvia plant has taken a while to produce its lovely deep blue blossoms. And here are the blooms on one spire, ready...
Ultra Green Sweat Bee on the apricot cosmos
For the first time ever, I spotted an Ultra Green Sweat Bee female Agapostemon texanus in the garden. From a distance she looked like a...
The honey bee and the California sunflower
The California sunflower plant that I bought from Oaktown Native Nursery last Fall is starting to produce blossoms. ...
The California towhees
A pair of California towhees spent some quality time around the lambs ears in the morning. Now that the blooming period is over for many...
