A bug that we call the European honeybee, enjoying cultivated native California sage flowers. 2017. #mbaug
Flowers
Hummingbird enjoying succulent flowers.
Hidden Lakes, Lassen National Forest
Saturday, June 13, 2020
We went on a hike to the Hidden Lakes in the Caribou Wilderness on the Lassen National Forest. It started at the Hay Meadows Trail Head, north of Lake Almanor, California. It was six miles of relatively flat hiking with periodic steep inclines. The trails were not at all crowded, though we brought masks just in case. We saw a male Western Tanager (bird). I cropped to zoom: A closer view, using Pixelmator Pro’s ML Super Resolution with crop:
Volunteer tomato is flowering. Who knows what kind of fruit this might grow (if pollinated). So too blooms our late April direct seeded peppers blooming.
The California Buckwheat is now blooming — cool hot pink anthers!
The toyon is in full bloom and it is impossible to photograph its flowers without pollinators. A very popular plant!
Bee butt on the first understated blooms of our cultivated Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia).
The backyard native California grapes are about done flowering and beginning to swell.
Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) flowers.
Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana) flower bud. These flowers are going to be huge.
Turns out native California grape flowers ate definitely not showy but are well loved by small pollinators.
I think these are as showy as native California grape flowers get. Will report back.
Backyard elderberry in full bloom. Fence behind it is six feet tall.
Wild California Grapes are coming along — these are the flowers buds.
Front yard Clarkia update: nearly full bloom. Hoping the white lined sphinx moth caterpillars show up soon. Though, this year there is far less forage than the last. Not enough rain.
This HUGE bumble bee really wants the Toyon flowers to open up! Been buzzing around for several minutes.
First bloom of our backyard California wild roses (Rosa Californica)!
Snakefly hunting insects on a bed of elderberry flowers.
Yarrow is now in bloom and the carpet beetles are gorging themselves on pollen.
Got to pay attention to notice avocado flowers. Our “Bacon” Avocado tree is flowering. Our “Mexicola” variety is not— too bad because they’re type A and B so would have pollinated each other.
First elderberry flowers in the backyard.
What do you need this morning? Bee butt on Gilia flowers and Baby Blue Eyes.
It’s high time we start taking photos behind the flowers. Apricot flower.
Cherry tree in full bloom.
Our front yarden sage plants (first two photos) and all the Ceanothus are now flowering.
Our apricot had its first bloom today. A few weeks ahead last year. This tree has rarely yielded fruit. 🤞🌳
Our cherry tree had its first bloom today.
2020 Spring: Blooms to Come
Friday, February 28, 2020
Here in the Northern Sacramento Valley of California, the blooming seems to be happening all at once with the unusually dry and warm late winter. Apricot is about to start blooming: The cherry will be blooming soon too: Western Red Bud (Cercis occidentalis) is about to bloom: California lilacs (Ceanothus ) “Ray Hartman” are about to bloom:
First front yard California poppy bloom of the year.
Our cherry tree’s super close **together** buds are opening up! Soon flower buds will rapidly drop on stems, bloom, and then by late May... ripe cherries! If the birds don’t get them first.
