Tag Archives: California Poppy

General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Lots of Critters… and a Beaver, 06-20-19

Up at 5:00 am again. I let the dog out to go potty and fed him his breakfast then headed over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve for my weekly volunteer Trail-Walking gig.  It was a gorgeous 58° when I got to the preserve and was overcast, so it never got over about 68° while I was there.  Perfect walking weather.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

One of the first things I saw was a Red-Shouldered Hawk carrying nesting materials. First she flew over my head, then she landed on a tree to get a better grip on the grasses she was holding before taking off again. These hawks only have one brood a year, but often work on the nest throughout the year to keep it clean.  It’s no uncommon for them to use the same nest over several season if the first nest is successful.  Later in my walk, I went by where I knew one of the hawks’ nest was and found a juvenile (fledgling) sitting out beside it squawking for its parents to come feed it. It was capable of feeding itself, but some of these young’uns milk the I’m-just-a-baby thing for quite a while. While it was near the nest, it was hard to get photos of it because it was backlit, but later it flew out and I was able to get a few better photos of it when it landed in a nearby tree.

There were a lot of deer out today, but I didn’t see any fawns. I DID see a couple of bucks, though, both of them still in their velvet, a 2-pointer and one with wonky antlers (one super-long one and one stumpy one). The 2-pointer was walking with a doe, and when I stood on the trail to take photos of them, he decided he didn’t like that.  He stepped right out toward me with a very determined look on his face. (Bucks can get real possessive of “their” does.) I knew he wouldn’t rush me and try to gore me because he was still in his velvet.  In that state, the antlers are super-sensitive to touch, and if he rammed me, he’d actually hurt himself.  But, he could still outrun me mash me with his hooves if he had a mind to, so I put my head down and back away.  That seemed to be enough of a submissive posture to him, and he returned to his doe.  As beautiful as the deer are, I have to remind myself that they’re still wild animals and will do whatever their instincts tell them to do – even in a nature park.

I heard and caught glimpses of several Nuttall’s Woodpeckers on my walk, but never got enough of a look at one to take its picture. Those birds enjoy teasing people, I swear. They’re really loud about announcing themselves in flight, but then hide from you once they land.

The wild plum and elderberry bushes are all getting their ripened fruit now. I saw birds eating some of the berries and came across an Eastern Fox Squirrel breakfasting on the plums.

Along the river, there was a small flock of Canada Geese feeding (bottoms-up in the shallow water) with a female Common Merganser fishing among them. They eat different things, so the geese were stirring up the water plants and the Merganser would grab any small fish that appeared. Unintentional mutualism.  While I was watching them, I saw something else in the water, swimming against the current and realized it was a beaver! 

I went down as close to the shore as I could – (It’s hard for me to clamber over the rocks.) – and tried to get some photos of it. Photo-taking was difficult because the beaver stayed close to shore and was obscured by the tules and other riverside plants and scrubby trees. When it got into less cluttered spots, in was in the shade, and my camera had trouble focusing between the dark and the reflections on the water.  So, I walked ahead of where I thought the beaver was heading to a sunnier spot and waited for it… and waited for it… and then I heard a splash and realized it had swum under the water right past me and came up in the river behind me.  Hah!  Sneaky Pete!  

I walked for about 4 hours and then headed back home.

Species List:

  1. American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus,
  2. Bewick’s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii,
  3. Black Harvester Ant, Messor pergandei,
  4. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans,
  5. Blue Oak, Quercus douglasii,
  6. Bush Katydid nymph, Scudderia pistillata,
  7. California Black Walnut, Juglans californica,
  8. California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana,
  9. California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica,
  10. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica,
  11. California Towhee, Melozone crissalis,
  12. California Wild Grape, Vitis californica,
  13. California Wild Plum, Prunus subcordata,
  14. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis,
  15. Chinese Privet, Ligustrum sinense,
  16. Coffeeberry, California Buckthorn, Frangula californica,
  17. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
  18. Coyote Mint, Monardella villosa,
  19. Coyote, Canis latrans,
  20. Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii,
  21. Doveweed, Turkey Mullein, Croton setigerus,
  22. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger,
  23. Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata,
  24. English Plantain, Ribwort, Plantago lanceolata,
  25. European Praying Mantis, Mantis religiosa,
  26. Evening Primrose, Oenothera biennis,
  27. Goldwire, Hypericum concinnum,
  28. Greater Periwinkle, Vinca major,
  29. Green Lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea,
  30. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon,
  31. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus,
  32. Leafhopper Assassin Bug, Zelus renardii,
  33. Moth Mullein, Verbascum blattaria,
  34. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura,
  35. North American Beaver, Castor canadensis,
  36. Northern Yellow Sac Spider, Cheiracanthium mildei,
  37. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii,
  38. Pink Grass, Windmill Pink, Petrorhagia dubia,
  39. Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum,
  40. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus,
  41. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia,
  42. Rock Shield Lichen, Xanthoparmelia sp.,
  43. Rusty Tussock Moth, Orgyia antiqua,
  44. Saw-whet Owl, Sophia, Aegolius acadicus,
  45. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa,
  46. Spanish Clover, Acmispon americanus,
  47. Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus,
  48. Sudden Oak Death pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum,
  49. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura,
  50. Western Drywood Termite, Incisitermes minor,
  51. Winter Vetch, Vicia villosa,
  52. Wood Duck, Aix sponsa,
  53. Wooly Mullein, Great Mullein, Verbascum thapsus,
  54. Yarrow, Achillea millefolium,
  55. Yellow Starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis

General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Trying to Beat the Heat on 06-05-19

I got up around 5:00 am this morning so I could get out to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve before it got too hot outside. The predicted high for today was 100°. When I got to the preserve, it was already about 67° outside.

Just seconds after I arrived, my CalNat graduate/friend, Roxanne M., showed up to join me and so did “The Other Mary”, Mary M., another volunteer trail walker at Effie Yeaw.  She brought a small bag for me filled with blackberries from her yard. I thought that was so nice of her.

The three of us walked for about 3 hours, but we cut out walk short because it was humid and hot at the river. When we left, it was already about 80°– and it was only a little after 9 o’clock. Pleh!

We weren’t expecting to see a lot, because nature is kind of in a transition period right now. We’re waiting for mammal babies to be born and insects to start showing themselves.  And, we didn’t see a whole lot, but Roxanne and I can always find something to look at and focus on.

Roxanne is doing a seed-collecting thing right now for the naturalist class, and so she stops at different plants to see what kind of seeds they have on them and how the seeds might be disbursed.  She took on this project on all by herself and is volunteering all the time it’s taking her to collect specimens and ID the plants.  I’m so proud of her!

CLICK HERE for the album of photos.

On our walk we saw a group of about four deer including a young buck in his velvet and a very pregnant doe. And later on, we also saw a bunch of baby rusty-headed Common Mergansers zooming down the riverside with their mom. It was so cute to see some of the babies swimming with their face down in the water, like the adults do, looking for things to eat.  Roxanne, The Other Mary and I all tried to get photos of them, but they moved so-so fast, it was really hard!

I also stopped to get some video of a hive of Common Black Ants (yeah, they’re really called that) carrying their larvae from one nest to another — most likely because the old nest was compromised in some way (infested with fungus, collapsing, etc.).

Moving the eggs and babies around can be really risky because they make for tasty treats for other insects and some birds, so the workers who carry them (very gently in their jaws) have to move really fast and know right where they’re going.

Queen ants are pretty awesome. They control the sex of all of their offspring (only creating males when it’s time for nuptial flights; ost ants you see are females); they can live for up to 15 (some say 30) years, and only mate during their nuptial flights… which means they can mate with several males during that short-term flight period, and then hang onto the sperm for the rest of their entire lives.

On our way out of the preserve we noticed leaves with circular cutouts on them. They’re made by Leafcutting Bees (Megachile sp.), a kind of native bee that lives in cavities. They use the bits they cut out of the leaves to line their tube-like nests and build a neat row of individual compartments, in each of which they’ll form a small doughy mound of pollen and nectar. On top of each of these mounds, the bee will lay a single egg.

Mother leafcutters can control the gender of their offspring, and often lay the eggs of their female offspring in the back of the tube-nest and the males in the front. This way, if the nest is invaded by a bird or other insects, it’s the males that will die first, leaving the females protected.

Although they’re solitary bees and don’t produce a lot of offspring, leafcutters are great pollinators. You can encourage them to pollinate your garden by building nesting boxes, called “bee condos”, for them in your yard. Here is a guide from the Xerces Society on how to do that: http://ow.ly/MhVf50uygX1.

Species List:

  1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus,
  2. Asian Ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis,
  3. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans,
  4. Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum,
  5. Bullock’s Oriole, Icterus bullockii,
  6. California Brodiaea, Brodiaea californica,
  7. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi,
  8. California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica,
  9. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica,
  10. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis,
  11. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
  12. Common Black Ant, Lasius niger,
  13. Common Merganser, Mergus merganser,
  14. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis
  15. Coyote Mint, Monardella villosa,
  16. Dogtail Grass, Cynosurus echinatus,
  17. Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata,
  18. English Plantain, Ribwort, Plantago lanceolata,
  19. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris,
  20. Goldwire, Hypericum concinnum,
  21. Green Shield Lichen, Flavoparmelia caperata,
  22. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon,
  23. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni,
  24. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus,
  25. Leaf-Cutter Bee, Megachile,
  26. Long-Jawed Orb-Weaver Spider, Tetragnatha elongate,
  27. Mock Orange, Lewis’s Mockorange, Philadelphus lewisii,
  28. Moss, Bryum Moss, Bryum capillare,
  29. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii,
  30. Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus,
  31. Oregon Ash, Fraxinus latifolia,
  32. Pacific Bent Grass, Agrostis avenacea,
  33. Praying Mantis, European Mantis, Mantis religiosa,
  34. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia,
  35. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa,
  36. Spicebush, Calycanthus occidentalis,
  37. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura,
  38. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata,
  39. Valley x Blue Oak, Quercus lobata x douglasii,
  40. Variable Flatsedge, Cyperus difformis,
  41. Wavy-Leaf Soap Plant, California Soaproot, Chlorogalum pomeridianum,
  42. Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis,
  43. White Alder, Alnus rhombifolia,
  44. White Horehound, Marrubium vulgare,
  45. Winter Vetch, Hairy Vetch, Vicia villosa,
  46. Yellow Water Iris, Yellow Flag, Iris pseudacorus,
Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography

Lots of Snowy Egrets, 05-31-19

I got up about 5:30 this morning, fed the dog his breakfast and then headed out to the Cosumnes River Preserve for a walk.

There was little to no water in the “wetland” areas, so not a lot of birds or dragonflies. I walked along the slough on the side of the road, and then walked through the oak woodland to the nature center, and then back to the car.  Along the slough, I saw Tree Swallows, a pair of Western Kingbirds, and a trio of Brown-Headed Cowbirds doing their bowing thing. They were on the top of a tree, so bowing was difficult, and they kept rolling off their twiggy branches. Eventually, they gave up and flew off.

Further along, I came across a small flock of Snowy Egrets who were feeling for things in the water with their feet.  As I was watching them and taking pictures, a Great Egret flew in and joined them. Seeing the great Egret and the Snowy Egrets side-by-side really exemplifies their size difference. It looked like a mama bird with lots of babies around her.  Some of the Snowy Egrets were flashing their top knots at one another. I got the sense that it was a more an aggressive, territorial thing than a romance thing. None of the birds had their long, trailing feathers in; and none of them were sporting the pink blush in the face the Snowies get when their breeding.

CLICK HERE for the album of photos.

Beyond the regular Oak Apple galls, there weren’t a lot of other ones out yet. I saw some Red Cones just starting to grow – looking like tiny red pimples on the leaves of some of the Valley Oaks.  I did see the curling leaf galls and “flower” galls on the ash trees, but not as much as I’m used to seeing.

As I was walking through the oak woodland, I was surprised to see a large flock of American White Pelicans fly overhead. By the time I got my camera up and focused, though, they were gone. It’s always so neat to see those big birds flying.  They don’t look like they should be able to stay aloft, but they’re so graceful in the sky.

I also got a glimpse of a Green Heron when he flew out from the rushes around the bridge area, and up into a willow tree.  There were so many twiggy branches around him, though, it was hard to get any decent shots of him.

Near the nature center, I saw some House Finches, Anna’s Hummingbirds, and a baby cottontail rabbit. The baby was a surprise; my brain couldn’t get itself around how small it was at first, and I just stared at it. I did come to enough to get a few shots of the bunny before it scrambled away, though.

Even going down to the boat launch area, I was surprised by the lack of insects. I was hoping to see dragonflies, damselflies and spiders there, but… nothing.

I walked for about three hours and then started to head home.  My insides were starting to complain, and I hurried to the restroom near the boardwalk area where my car was parked – only to find that the thing was locked shut. Seriously?! Guh! I hate it when that happens.

Species List:

  1. American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos,
  2. Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna,
  3. Ash Flower Gall Mite, Eriophyes fraxinivorus,
  4. Ash Leaf Curl Aphid, Prociphilus fraxinifolii,
  5. Asian Ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis,
  6. Bermuda Grass, Cynodon dactylon,
  7. Bindweed, Field Bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis,
  8. Birds-Foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus,
  9. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans,
  10. Blue-Eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium angustifolium,
  11. Broadleaf Cattail, Bullrush, Typha latifolia,
  12. Broadleaf Mistletoe, Phoradendron macrophyllum,
  13. Brown-Headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater,
  14. Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis,
  15. California Brodiaea, Brodiaea californica,
  16. California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica,
  17. California Wild Rose, Rosa californica,
  18. Cleveland Sage, Salvia clevelandii,
  19. Common Knotweed, Persicaria lapathifolia,
  20. Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium,
  21. Convergent Ladybeetle, Hippodamia convergens,
  22. Coyote Brush Bud Gall Midge, Rhopalomyia californica,
  23. Curly Leaved Dock, Rumex crispus,
  24. Desert Cottontail Rabbit, Sylvilagus audubonii,
  25. Doveweed, Turkey Mullein, Croton setigerus,
  26. English Field Daisy, Bellis perennis,
  27. Fennel, Sweet Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare,
  28. Floating Water Primrose, Ludwigia peploides,
  29. Goodding’s Willow, Salix gooddingii,
  30. Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias,
  31. Great Egret, Ardea alba,
  32. Green Heron, Butorides virescens,
  33. Green Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum,
  34. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus,
  35. Hoverfly, Syrphidae,
  36. Hummingbird Sage, Salvia spathacea,
  37. Jointed Charlock, Raphanus raphanistrum,
  38. Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus
  39. Lippia, Turkey Tangle, Fogfruit, Phyla nodiflora,
  40. Long-Jawed Orb Weaver, Tetragnatha extensa,
  41. Oak Apple Gall Wasp, Andricus quercuscalifornicus,
  42. Oregon Ash, Fraxinus latifolia,
  43. Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea,
  44. Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum,
  45. Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum,
  46. Purple Finch, Haemorhous purpureus,
  47. Purpletop Vervain, Verbena bonariensis,
  48. Rabbitsfoot Grass, Polypogon monspeliensis,
  49. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus,
  50. Seven-Spotted Ladybeetle, Coccinella septempunctata,
  51. Snowy Egret, Egretta thula,
  52. Swift Crab Spider, Mecaphesa celer
  53. Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor,
  54. Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus,
  55. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata,
  56. Variable Flatsedge, Cyperus difformis,
  57. Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis,
  58. Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis,
  59. Wild Onion (white), Allium sp.,
  60. Willow Apple Gall Wasp, Pontania californica,
  61. Willow Bead Gall Mite, Aculops tentanothrix,
  62. Willow Bud Gall Mite, Aculops aenigma,
  63. Willow Stem Gall Wasp, Euura exiguae,
Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography

A Walk at the Cemetery, 05-11-19

I got up around 6:00 this morning and futz around a little bit so I could get to the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery around 7:00 am (which is when they open their gates). The cemetery has several gardens, so I was basically looking for pretty flowers and pollinator species. It was 54° when I got there, and almost 70° by the time I left.

The gardens include an extensive rose garden, a make-shift Japanese garden, a perennials garden, and a natives garden. I spent most of my time in the perennials garden because there are so-so many different plants there all crammed into a small place. Everywhere you look, there’s something different growing.

As I probably mentioned before, I suck at identifying cultivated plants, so my ID list may be pretty shallow this time around. The roses are all going to be marked “Rosa sp.”, because I don’t know the different varieties.  Same with the irises and most of the geraniums.  The gardens have placards for some of the plants and flowers, but I wasn’t paying attention.

Inside the cemetery, which abuts another large private cemetery, are smaller cemetery areas: one for firefighters, one for the Masons, and one for athletes. Some are decorated with plants; others are bare.

The place was inundated with Painted Lady butterflies all warming themselves on the stones and drinking from the flowers. They photo-bombed a lot of pictures. I was kind of upset to see some kind of weevils sucking the life out of a wide array of the plants. I think they were Fuller’s Rose Weevils (Pantomorus cervinus).  Everything from daisies to roses to irises were rendered ratty-looking by them. The little buggers were chewing on everything. It seemed like an unusually bad infestation.

I also found some pinkish aphids that looked like they had a blood-spot on the back of their bodies. I haven’t IDed them yet. When I first saw them, I thought they were insect eggs, they were so tiny, so I was surprised when I was able to “explode” the image with my cellphone and see they were actually aphids.

Most of the irises were done blooming, but there were still a few that were showing off here and there.  If I had gone in April, I would have seen a lot more.  Still, I found ones that were all dark purple, a mix of purple and lavender, blue and white, all sky-blue, all white, peachy-pink, a mix of pale tan and lavender, a mix of orange and maroon, etc.  I love taking photos of their fuzzy “tongues”.

I also saw a lot of succulents in an unusual variety of colors. Some were the standard green, but some were so dark brown they looked almost black, and there was one that was pale yellow with green stripes. Really pretty.

I’m not much of a rose fan, but I really like the trailing roses, and there’s a variety that looks like candy canes which I think is really pretty. I was a little disappointed that the hydrangeas, which I think are gorgeous, weren’t really in bloom yet – but they give me an excuse to go back there in the next few weeks…

CLICK HERE for Album #1.

CLICK HERE for Album #2.

When I stopped at the fountain to rest for a minute, a woman came up with her Corgi – and the dog jumped right into the fountain, kicked around for a minute and then laid down in the water. Hah!  The woman says she comes to the cemetery a lot, and the fountain is her dog’s favorite resting spot.

If I were going to be buried in a cemetery, this would be the kind of place in which I’d like to end up. (But I want to be cremated, and my ashes scattered in a forest.) This cemetery is “full”, though, so it won’t take in any new bodies unless the person/family already owns a family plot there, so someone sells you their plot.  They do let people volunteer to take over the care of the plots, however, and you can really tell which volunteers have the greenest thumbs. Some of the more well-tended plots are overflowing with flowers and greenery; just beautiful.

The place has been around since the 1800’s, so the majority of the trees inside of it are HUGE; 30-, 40-, 50-feet tall and just so impressive.  There’s a double line of weeping cypress along one walkway that are magnificent.

My walk was very nice; slow paced and relatively quiet (except for the community-service-hours-gardening crew and their leaf-blowers), with nice weather and sunshine. I also got to see a few birds including crows, Northern Mockingbirds, a pair of Mourning Doves, Anna’s Hummingbirds, and a pair of Western Bluebirds. Sometimes the birds would perch on the headstone or on the top of the spire-like monuments, and the photo opps were really neat. One of the hummingbirds was drinking at the flowers of an aloe plant, and rather than hovering under the flowerheads to drink, it perches on the stems of the plant… so, again, a nice photo opportunity.

Revisiting the stonework and taking photos of the headstones, mausoleums and monuments also adds to the experience.  Some of the headstones face west (to the setting sun) while others face east (depending on the individual’s beliefs); some have flowers carved into the stone (full ones for the adults, buds for the ones who died too young), and then of course there was the ones with lambs on them (for children). It’s all so interesting… I need to start going there more often again.

I walked for about 3 ½ hours and then headed back home.

Species List:

1. 14-Spotted Lady Beetle, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata,
2. Aloe, Aloe maculata,
3. Amaryllis, family Amaryllidaceae,
4. Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna,
5. Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis,
6. Assassin Bug, Zelus luridus, (green)
7. Autumn Sage, Salvia greggii, (red)
8. Baby Sage, Salvia microphylla, (red and white)
9. Bearded Iris, Iris × germanica,
10. Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta,
11. Blanket Flower, Gaillardia x grandiflora,
12. Bloody Crane’s-Bill, Geranium sanguineum,
13. Blue Flag Iris, Iris versicolor,
14. Boxelder Bug nymph, Boisea trivittata,
15. Brass Buttons, Cotula coronopifolia,
16. California Bumblebee, Bombus californicus,
17. California Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa californica,
18. California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica,
19. Carpet Bugle, Ajuga reptans,
20. Ceanothus, Ceanothus sp.,
21. Clematis, possibly the Romantika Clematis, Clematis sp.,
22. Cleveland Sage, Salvia clevelandii,
23. Common Indian Blanket, Gaillardia aristate,
24. Common Yarrow, Achillea filipendulina
25. Convergent Lady Beetle, Hippodamia convergens,
26. Crimson Bottlebrush, Melaleuca citrina
27. Damselfly,
28. Daylily, Hemerocallis sp.,
29. Deer Fern, Struthiopteris spicant.
30. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger,
31. Eggleaf Spurge, Euphorbia oblongata,
32. European Honeybee, Apis mellifera,
33. Everlasting, Anaphalis sp.,
34. Firecracker Flower, Dichelostemma ida-maia
35. Fortnight Lily, African Iris, Dietes iridioides,
36. Foxglove, Dalmatian Peach, Digitalis sp.
37. Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, (purple with spotted tongue)
38. Frémont’s Bush-Mallow, Malacothamnus fremontii
39. French Hydrangea, Mophead or Big-Leaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla,
40. French Lavender, Lavandula stoechas
41. Garden Geranium, Garden Pelargonium, Pelargonium ×hortorum
42. Geranium, family Geraniaceae,
43. Gerber Daisy, Gerbera jamesonii,
44. Gray Pine, Pinus sabiniana
45. Green Lacewing nymph, Chrysoperla carnea,
46. Green Metallic Sweat Bee, Augochloropsis metallica,
47. Hedge Nettle, Stachys sp.,
48. Hens-and-Chicks, Sempervivum tectorum,
49. Hoverfly, Flower Hoverfly, Syrphus torvis,
50. Hummingbird Sage, Salvia spathacea,
51. Italian Cypress, Cupressus sempervirens,
52. Ivy-Leafed Geranium, Pelargonium peltatum
53. Jerusalem Sage, Phlomis fruticosa,
54. Jupiter’s Beard, Red Valerian, Centranthus ruber,
55. Lace-cap Hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla normalis,
56. Lamb’s Ears Stachys byzantina,
57. Lindheimer’s Beeblossom, Gaura lindheimeri (white spidery-looking)
58. Long-Jawed Orb Weaver Spider, family Tetragnathidae,
59. Lyre-leaf Greeneyes, Berlandiera lyrate,
60. Macartney’s Rose, Rosa bracteata,
61. Mexican Firebush, Hamelia patens
62. Mexican Snowball, Echeveria elegans,
63. Monkeyflower, Diplacus sp.,
64. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
65. Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
66. Pagoda Village Succulent, Crassula capitella ssp. thyrsiflora
67. Painted Lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui,
68. Panicled Hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata,
69. Pincushion Flower, Scabiosa atropurpurea,
70. Pink Jelly Bean Sedum, Sedum rubrotinctum
71. Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea,
72. Purple Rose Aeonium, Aeonium arboretum,
73. Purple Sage, Salvia leucophylla,
74. Purple Salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius,
75. Radiation Lantana, Lantana camara,
76. Ranuncula, Ranunculus sp.,
77. Red Bush Monkeyflower, Mimulus aurantiacus var. puniceus
78. Red Dome Blanketflower, Gaillardia pinnatifida
79. Ribwort, English Plantain, Plantago lanceolata,
80. Rock Purslane, Cistanthe grandiflora
81. Rose Campion, Silene coronaria,
82. Rose, Rosa sp. (cultivated)
83. Rosemary Grevillea, Grevillea rosmarinifolia,
84. Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis,
85. Sage Leaf Rockrose, Cistus salviifolius
86. Showy Phlox, Phlox speciosa,
87. Silver Ragwort, Jacobaea maritima
88. Silver Ragwort, Jacobaea maritima,
89. Smoke Tree, Smokebush, Cotinus coggygria
90. Southern Magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora,
91. Spring Starflower, Ipheion uniflorum,
92. Spurge, Albanian Spurge, Euphorbia characias,
93. Spurge, Euphorbia sp.,
94. Stalked Aeonium, Aeonium undulatum,
95. Striped Rose, Henri Matisse Rose, Rosa polyantha or Rosa chinensis x Rosa multiflora
96. Sunburst Aeonium, Aeonium decorum,
97. Tower of Jewels, Echium wildpretii,
98. Trailing African Daisy, Freeway Daisy, Dimorphotheca fruticose,
99. Trailing Bellflower, Campanula poscharskyana,
100. Trailing Lantana, Lantana montevidensis,
101. Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica,
102. Valley Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa varipuncta,
103. Waveyleaf Sea Lavender Statice, Limonium sinuatum,
104. Weeping Cypress, Cupressus cashmeriana,
105. Western Bluebird, Sialia mexicana
106. White Prickly Poppy, Argemone albiflora,
107. Yellow Queen Columbine, Aquilegia chrysantha