Yellow-face Bumble Bee
Now that the oregano plant is blooming, the bees have another food source. Here is a yellow-face bumble bee foraging for nectar and...
Leaf cutter bees and, hey, isn't that a monarch?
The leaf cutter bees are back and I'm seeing them on many flowers in the garden. Here are two leaf cutter bees, one about to land on the...
The mostly native garden in August
As we all know, gardens don't necessarily look their best in the month of August, when most plants are no longer producing blossoms, and...
Other creatures in the garden
We do need to also acknowledge the other insects in the garden. They may not be as attractive or appealing as bees, butterflies and...
Weekend monarch activity
This weekend we released four more monarch butterflies after they eclosed. Three were male, one female. The female, shown above on a...
Busy bees in the breeze
The garden is always full of the buzzing sound of bees. It's such a comforting sound. Above are two leaf cutter bees taking off and...
Monarchs are emerging every day now
We are still busy raising the monarch caterpillars. Most of the group are now in chrysalis mode. And we seem to be releasing one or two...
California Scrub Jays are back
This is the first time I've seen a California Scrub Jay visiting the birdbath. Now that the mockingbirds have nested and raised their...
Female Carpenter Bee and the Indigo Spires Salvia
The Carpenter Bees Xylocopa varipuncta really are attracted to the Indigo Spires salvia blossoms. Indigo Spires salvia produces nectar,...
The tentative female monarch butterfly
When we released a male monarch butterfly last week, a female had eclosed that morning. In the afternoon, when it was sunny and warm, it...
