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distortions.net

I'm Ryan Mikulovsky. Tech geek. GIS pro. Avgeek. California Native plant gardener. All photos on this blog, unless stated otherwise, are mine. Cameras: Fujifilm X-T5 and X100V. Views are my own. Follow me on Mastodon: @rpmik@avgeek.social

Flowers

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    Our native plant garden in the front yard. It looks unmaintained but I swear it is! Nearly everything is flowering including sage, Ceanothus, globe gilia, & manzanita (nearly done flowering). Our Clarkias will be blooming soon. Bees (native & European) and ladybug larva are insane this year.

    A blue house with golden poppies amidst bushy green plants including Ceanothus with blue flowers, flowering sage, light pink Manzanita flowers, and in the middle a very happy blue oak.
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    Here’s yesterday’s Bullock’s Oriole looking right at the camera. #BullocksOriole #Birds A Bullock’s Oriole sits in a violet flowering Ceanothus bush, looking straight ahead. It has an orange chest and orange cheeks. Its head is mostly orange, but it has black on top. The cute bird has black eyeliner and a black chin, creating a cool triangular pattern that nearly looks angry. You can just barely see its right wing. Its wing is black with white on the bottom.

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    Bullock’s Oriole in our backyard Ceanothus. This is our first backyard Oriole! Wow. #BullocksOriole #Birds #Fujifilm

    A medium Bullock’s Oriole bird with a bright orange chest, a reddish throat, and a black chin. It has a black back with whitish wings. Its orange head has a black stripe on top and a black stripe going from the rear corner of its eye to its back. The bird is perched in a Ceanothus shrub that’s loaded with tiny violet flowers and dark green leaves in between.
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    We planted our vegetable and herb seedlings today. Our home compost has turned out real nice. Took several years to build up enough for use. The worms do most of the work since we can’t get the compost hot enough for long. 🌱 Two planted crop rows with drip tape. In the background are stunningly violet flowers of Ceanothus bushes. To the right of the crop rows is patio with grapes leafing out below the awning. Gravel makes up paths between crop rows.A wheel burrow full of worm laden compost. It’s sunrise and the shadows are long.

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    Our young “New Century” Asian Pear tree is in full bloom. Our “Hosui” Asian Pear isn’t mature enough to flower and cross pollinate. Maybe next year!

    Three open white flowers at the top of a very young thin leafing out tree. A stake is next to it, keeping it up right. The background is composed of blurred out gravel.
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    European Honeybees were all over our manzanitas yesterday. A European Honeybee on pink-white clusters of bell shaped manzanita flowers. The stems are rust red and the leaves are bright green, shaped like perfect smooth leaves

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    First bloom of our a front yard Ceanothus today. So many more to come. So. Many.

    Bright small violet flowers with bokeh of green shrubs (coyote bush) in the background.
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    A hard freeze likely tonight and tomorrow night in the North Sacramento Valley. Hopefully a light breeze will keep the temps higher. Tonight we did cover up our young trees. Cold days means bees have not been foraging -not great for our nearly full bloom nectarine. Now a freeze

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    Pepper garden update🌱

    garden path with ripening peppers on both sides and a glorious sunflower at the end of the trail
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    Before our trip to Germany, I pruned the first big leaves off a sunflower because they were shading out a pepper. Now the sunflower has a flower near each prune cut. Great for attracting bees to our peppers!

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    Gorgeous dragonfly in the backyard today. Lucked out with the lighting.

    bright red and orange dragonfly on the tip of a sunflower stalk.
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    One front yard clump California Fuchsias is blooming. This one is always a month ahead of the others. Not pictured, but our yarrow is flowering too. And the Toyon is still very popular with all kinds of pollinators. Meanwhile our neighbor struggled with a gas powered lawnmower.🌱

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    Backyard is looking good. Peppers & tomatoes are flowering. The elderberries are still flowering.

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    Our front yard Toyon (first photo) and Yarrow (2nd photo) are blooming. Just the California buckwheat and the California fuchsias are left to bloom. 🌱

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    Pineapple guavas have been blooming for a few weeks now. The Mockingbirds love munching on the flower petals.

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    Wild California Grape flowers.

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    Here’s a magenta flower from one of our cultivated California Wild Roses.

    magenta rose with yellow center and luscious foliage behind
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    Avocado flowers! 🌱🌳

    understated avocado flowers with barely any sepals. two flies are enjoying the plant.ladybugs enjoying the avocado tree.

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    Poppies (1st photo) are now in full bloom and clarkias (2nd) are about to do the same. 🌱

    front yard landscape with golden poppiesmagenta clarkia flowers

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    Now in bloom in our backyard: cultivated California Wild Roses (pic 1) and Elderberry (2). Still gorging themselves: ladybugs. Everywhere in our front yard. They’re just decimating aphids. Ladybugs particularly love coyote bush (3) and sage.

    wild rose flower with white flower petalsyellow elderberry flowersbright orange ladybugs all over a coyote bush

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