Bayfront Park. 📍
A bumblebee enjoying a carpet of asters (probably invasive capeweed 😕) at Bayfront Park, Millbrae
#BloomScrolling #Bumblebee #Insects #Fujifilm #SOoC
Bayfront Park. 📍
A bumblebee enjoying a carpet of asters (probably invasive capeweed 😕) at Bayfront Park, Millbrae
#BloomScrolling #Bumblebee #Insects #Fujifilm #SOoC
Backyard native flower status: Pink and white California roses and Elderberry. There appear to be flower buds on the milkweed!
#Yarden #NativePlants
Random unexplained photo of a very narrow part of our backyard #BloomScrolling #Ceanothus #NativePlants #Yarden #Fujifilm #SOoC
I guess both of my Asian Pear trees have a fungal infection. These black spots certainly do not appear to be insect related. I’ve treated with fungicide in hopes of salvaging these trees & this year’s fruit. #Yarden #HomeOrchard
I adore our random bunch of daffodils that grew unbidden under a manzanita in the front yard #BloomScrolling #Yarden
Our backyard Nectarine is now in full bloom! #NectarineTree #Yarden #HomeOrchard #BloomScrolling #Fujifilm #SOoC
Our resident scrub jays didn’t have much of a green thumb this year. Or they did a great job eating their cache. This is the only sunflower they grew
Just as most non-native plants stop flowering in time for summer, the California Fuchsias have just begun adding a splash of red. Currently the native toyon, elderberry, and roses are flowering. California Buckwheat is on its way. We have flowers nearly year-round. Native plants are awesome.
Lots of Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies feasting on purple thistle flower nectar at a wildlife refuge today. #PipevineSwallowtail #Butterfly #Fujifilm
We’re planting only one row this year. Just tomatoes, various peppers, basil, and an overwintered thyme. All prepped, just need to plant! #gardening
Today I lucked out and saw a small Painted Lady butterfly delighting in our clover. My X-T5 camera and telephoto lens were thankfully ready to go! 📷 #MBApr
A gorgeous Barrel Cactus from Joshua Tree National Park 📷 #MBApr
Uncovered a historical artifact while cutting back the lavender. Guess AT&T hasn’t needed this equipment portal for quite some time. PG&E at least periodically inspects their stuff.
Pear flowers! This year our two Asian pear trees bloomed simultaneously. Good bet they cross pollinated 📷 #MBApr
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Most of the second full day at Death Valley!
See Part 1 or Part 2 or Part 3 or Part 4
The next day we drove up to Ubehebe Crater. This northern part of the park was painted yellow in Desert Sunflowers bloom:
There were other flowers too, like this striking Notch-leaved phacelia:
And some Browneyes or Browneyed Primrose (Chylismia claviformis):
The volcanic Ubehebe Crater with person (me) for scale. My wife shot with a Fujifilm X100V camera using a film simulation that’s similar to Kodachrome 64:
Here’s what I was gazing at through my Fujifilm X-T5 using the more saturated Velvia film simulation to really make the colors pop:
Here’s the volcanic crater from the top at the north side:
And at the same place, a nice vista of the surrounding northern-most part of Death Valley:
We headed back south, so we took an opportunity to pull over to gaze at some incredible mountains:
Uh-oh. A collection of shoes. What could this mean‽:
The Mesquite Sand Dunes. Clearly, the dunes are famous for gladly taking shoes and socks that people remove and forget (‽) about. Kind people must collect them hoping that the footwear will be reunited with their owners (or someone desperate for footwear):
Mesquite Dunes and faulted mountains:
That’s it for today. Stay tuned for Part 6.
For the first time both our Asian pear trees are in full bloom! They can pollinate each other so this is very good of news. No Death Valley photos tonight
The wind was far calmer today at Death Valley, so here’s a Desert Sunflower without motion blur #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #DeathValley #Fujifilm
Our front yard Ceanothus bushes are nearly in full bloom. They are very popular with all sorts of bees and assassin bugs #BloomScrolling
Northern California is in full almond bloom. Our backyard fruit trees are on the precipice of blooming. The ceanothus in the front yard is starting to bloom and the manzanitas have been in full bloom for about a week now
We sometimes spoil our resident scrub jays with sunflower heads loaded with seeds.
Gray Buckeye Butterfly today at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. #Fujifilm #GrayBuckeye #Butterfly
Some real dinosaur stuff happened today at Bay Front Park just south of SFO. This Great Blue Heron caught a gopher, paraded around with it for several minutes, then swallowed it whole. Then the heron proceeded to hunt some more. 😬
Volunteer Sunflowers in the backyard. The scrub jays garden really well. I continue to be impressed with the new Fujifilm XApp for transferring photos from my X-T5. #Fujifilm #Sunflowers #BloomScrolling
Here is a Black-necked Stilt from the #SacramentoNationalWildlifeRefuge #BlackNeckedStilt #BirdsOfMastodon #Fujifilm