Well hello there, honey bee
It was a dry and fairly sunny day today and some bees were out and about in the garden. For example this honey bee perched on top of a...
Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee pollinating the Sunshine Blueberries
Between the rainstorms this yellow-faced bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii has been busy pollinating our sunshine blueberry blossoms. I...
The Angelica tomentosa returns
Look who's back! Last year I planted two Angelica tomentosa "Wooly Angelica" seedlings in one of the patio plant beds. I tended to them,...
Lavender is a great nectar source for the pollinators
If you want a guaranteed nectar source all year-round, plant lavender shrubs. Here is a honey bee feeding on nectar from one of our...
Black Phoebe sitting on a crab apple branch
The Northern Black Phoebes visit our yard throughout the year. I like to observe them perched on a branch or TV cable above the front...
Winter showers bring the flowers
We are currently experiencing a severe winter storm, a result of the atmospheric stream with its long moisture plume. While this weather...
Winter blooms on the Ray Hartman Ceanothus
It's so nice to see the Ray Hartman ceanothus shrub producing blossoms throughout the winter. When we lived at a lower elevation in...
First ladybird of the year
Aha, the first ladybird I've seen this year! It is a seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata on the leaf of a Cream Cups...
Winter blooms
When the sun is shining, it's such a delight to walk in the garden and observe plants slowly but surely producing new growth. For...
Birds out in the rain
The Bay Area got soaked yesterday, which is just what we should have every winter. During periods of lighter rain I looked outside for...
