Before and After

 

Yesterday's Harvest

 

Yay! It's dahlia time!

Eleven!

 Eleven little brown birds having a summertime pool party...

Bride...

 

...of Frankenstein!

Abbreviated

This sign is...interesting. I'm not sure who it's intended for as it is only about four feet high....

Humming Along

This little Allen's hummingbird was enjoying that succulent flower. I love how you can see the pollen on its beak...

Joshua Tree After Dark

 

Random Heart: Cacti Edition

 

(This is slightly cheating as these cacti seem to often have a paddle shaped like this...but it's still a heart!)

Butterfly Buffet

 

All sorts of butterflies really seem to love this gomphrena plant...

Layers

 

Lovely Lavatera

 

Isn't this gorgeous? While it looks a lot like a hibiscus, it is in fact a rose mallow (lavatera). The bees love it! (Not mine...in a friend's garden.)

Rawrrrrrr

 

Incoming tiny feathered dinosaur...

Happy Bastille Day

 

("Happy" seems a bit weird given how things ultimately played out, but still...)

Vive la Révolution! 

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

 

I haven't done one in a while: here she is!

Succulent

 

Random Heart: Wispy Cloud Edition

 

I Must Say...

 

Adorable little fledglings...

Crabby

 

I think this finch maybe go up on the wrong side of the nest?

Happy 4th

 

Lizardo in a Box

 

Imagine my surprise when I sailed into the bathroom and saw this long lizardo. I might have let out a tiny scream--it has such a long tail that it looks a bit like a snake out of the corner of one's eye...

I did manage to drop this plastic shoebox over it--I was very afraid of catching its tail but fortunately did not--and then slid a piece of cardboard underneath and RAN outside with it. All's well that end's well! We love our lizardos, but they cannot come inside the house...it's the rule!

Dandy

Lit

 

I love how this morning glory flower almost appears to be lit from within...

Random Heart: Cherry Edition

Winged

 

Fly Away

 

This monarch butterfly couldn't, well, fly. At first. She fluttered but couldn't lift off. If you look closely, on the right side the hind wing was on top of the forewing, for reasons unknown. Unlike the butterfly in my latest monarch post, this one shows no signs of age/wear, which makes me wonder if perhaps it is newly hatched...

I decided to move her onto this pentas plant so at least she could get some nutrition from the nectar; she very happily began to feed. When I came out an hour or so later, there was no sign of her, so I assume (hope!) that she somehow managed to fly away. They are toxic to birds--and the birds know it and do not try to consume them--so there isn't really another explanation.

This is before I moved her to the plant...she went for a walk up my arm.

The next day, there was a monarch fluttering around the yard--I like to think that it was this butterfly coming back for a victory lap. 

Incoming

Popping

 

This poppy plant is the last remnant of a package of seeds I bought at the Museum of Gardening in London at least twenty years ago. They have reseeded every year without fail--except this year, where none came up where they traditionally have; this one is waayyy down the cutting garden at the other end. Perhaps the end of an era...

Happiness...

 

...is a bowl full of cherries!

My Little Friend

 

Ella!!! 

(She is my friend Robin's sweet girl...)