Yarden

Nov 14, 2025 ∞

Backyard Hooded Oriole alert! #HoodedOriole #BirdPhotography #Yarden #Fujifilm #CropToZoom #SOoC

Atop a wooden stake is perched a Hooded Oriole, looking to the left, with its bright orange body, black kerchief, wings with black and white stripes, and a somewhat visible cape of brown with black spots. Its tail is black. The background is just off white blur. A front facing Hooded Oriole perched on a Ceanothus branch with many green leaves. Its black kerchief is prominent.

Nov 5, 2025 ∞

We were gifted some daffodil bulbs! The instructions recommended seven inches deep, but I only have the patience to dig to five, just deeper than the trowel. I helped them along by mixing in some fresh wormy compost. #Yarden

A triangular garden patch, surrounded by river rock, just planted with a paper label with "Dutch Mill Bulbs" and "A Mixed Daffodils". Some tree stakes can be vaguely seen in the background.

Oct 20, 2025 ∞

Here are some random through-the-glass-slider photos of a few of the migratory songbirds finding food-a-plenty in our backyard: Yellow-Rumped Warbler & Lesser Gold Finch #YellowRumpedWarbler #LesserGoldfinch #Birds #Yarden

Three Yellow Rumped Warblers forage among brown asparagus fronds. Their yellow bellies are highlighted by the morning sunlight

A Lesser Goldfinch, back to camera & head turned in profile view, is perched in sweet basil foliage, it feasting on dried seeds. It has a yellow face, a black helmet, and white on black chevrons on its black tail.

Sep 6, 2025 ∞

My wife discovered another, smaller avocado fruit in our “Bacon” avocado tree. So that’s two! Very exciting. We still need to continue research harvest time for this variety. It’s a minefield on the internet for that 🤨 #Yarden #HomeOrchard #Avocado

A small, finger length avocado amongst broad dark green avocado leaves and tree tape.

Sep 5, 2025 ∞

A Nuttal’s woodpecker visited our front yard Toyon yesterday! #Yarden #NuttalsWoodpecker #Birds

Aug 16, 2025 ∞

It’s the backyard Asian Pear harvest! Yellow are New Century variety and the brown skinned are the more familiar looking Hosui variety. They are odd spindly trees right now. I’m not used to pruning central leader trees, but vase shape. #Yarden #HomeOrchard #AsianPears

A colander with a mixture of yellow and brown skinned Asian Pears A very spindly Hosui pear tree with multiple stakes and lots of tree tape. It has pears still. The sky is blue and there’s more vegetation along a fence in the background. Drip line and gravel are in the foreground. A New Century Asian Pear tree with small yellow skinned pears. It’s better branched and dilated compared to the Hosui tree. In the background, there are ugly metal structures behind a wood fence. In the foreground is gravel and drip line.

Aug 15, 2025 ∞

Our cultivated California native seedy grapes are ready. The two plants mostly feed Northern Mockingbirds, Western Scrub Jays, and in the late fall, Kinglets, but some grapes will be for the humans in the form of a compote. As a bonus, gaze upon our lone avocado! #Yarden #HomeOrchard

Many bunches of ripe purple grapes hang from a grape vine. A hand is holding a metal colander filled with ripe red grapes. It's being held under a grape vine. An avocado is hanging from an avocado tree. It has a long stem and a narrow, green speckled body. A hand is nearby acting as a scale. It's about five fingers long and three fingers wide.

Aug 4, 2025 ∞

Sorry to those that are squeamish about spiders, but this Western Spotted Orbweaver was just asking for a photoshoot. This spider took the night-shift last night in our front yard #WesternSpottedOrbWeaver #Spider #InsectPhotography #Yarden #Fujifilm #SoOC

Plan-view of a Western Orbweaver spider with a fat, round abdomen and a tiny brown cephalothorax (head). The abdomen has patterns of brown within a matrix of coffee with cream. Its spider web can be descerned from the background, which is all blurred out. Its legs alternate between brown and coffee with cream. It has hairs on its head. It has spikes on its legs. The underside of the Western Spotted Orbweaver, which appears reddish probably because of light conditions. It has four clear white spots on its abdomen and an elongated white spot just below its head. Its chelicerae are visible. The background is completely blurred out.

Aug 2, 2025 ∞

I think this is the last nectarine harvest. About 6 pounds. The shield bugs were showing up and nectarines were dropping fast from wind and bird pecks :-( They were effortlessly plucked off the tree. Next harvest: Asian pears! #HomeOrchard #Nectarines #Yarden

A nectarine tree with almost a dozen dropped fruit on the gravel and dirt area below. The tree still has a few dozen nectarines on it. A collander of very ripe dark red to orange colored nectarines sitting on a scale. The scale is on a plastic covering upon a tile counter. The scale reads 6 pounds and 5 ounces, so there’s about 6 pounds of necartines.

Jul 27, 2025 ∞

Another nectarine harvest. This time, 4 pounds. Smelling more fragrant this time! A few came off with a tug (yellower stems) but most still need shears. Also, our milkweed has busted open their pods and omg the tufts are so soft! #HomeOrchard #Nectarines #Milkweed #Yarden

Four pounds of dark red to red to yellow nectarines piled up in a metal colander. A milkweed pod is releasing its seeds, which are ready to wind carried away by their fluffy, white tufts. The pods are cone shaped and split down the middle to release their seeds.