After picking sixty (60!) snails off our little orange tree this morning, I noticed this handsome fly on one of the ravaged leaves. I am no entomologist, so the ID could be wrong. Looking at the distribution map in iNaturalist, Anthomyia species are far more common in the Southern Hemisphere than the northern, so possibly I’m way off. I was attracted to the strong dark dots on the wings; I suspect that are a key feature for identification.
Ah! They grow up so fast! The baby hummers continue to provide daily drama and entertainment, but soon they’ll be out in the big wide world.
I love the feather pattern on their chins. Reminds me of Hallgrímskirkja.
Today’s arrangement brought to you by Verbena, Aloe, Salvia and Encelia, whose initials, I just realised, spell VASE.
About eleven years ago, I bought two small lavender plants from Trader Joe’s and planted them on our hill. With minimal attention (except from bees), they’ve grown into thick, sturdy bushes about 1.5 meters tall and wide, that flower for months. Sixteen bucks, well spent.
Sometimes it’s excellent to be wrong. I thought these babies were dead, but they are very much alive. We (and the camera) still haven’t seen the mama feeding them, but she must be doing so. Yay!
I was late planting tomatoes this year. There’s been a lot of rain, which I thought they’d appreciate, but they seem to be afflicted with some kind of fungus, most likely “early blight”. The remedy for all the fungal afflictions seems to be the same, a copper-based spray applied every 7 to 10 days. Continuing research over here …
For the third year in a row, a hummingbird has nested in our yard then failed to raise a brood. We’ve had the wildlife camera on this nest for several days, but the mama has not been back. Two little unfed puffballs rest in peace.
Looking forward to getting my hands dirty with this one.
Chive blossoms are so pretty … and edible! I should be incorporating them into our meals.
hashiworks 