House wrens, brood two

These photos were taken Monday. For scale, that remaining egg is just slightly larger than one of those teeny gourmet jelly beans.

My first-ever hummingbird photo

Took this a few weeks ago while visiting my in-laws.

Homegrown harvest

Left to right: Beet tops, chard, carrots ('Purple Haze'), yellow-stemmed and red-stemmed chard, eggplant ('Hansel')

Bye, bye birdies

Last day in the nest box. Come out, come out, says Mom.

Brown thrasher on nest

Look closely (click on image) and you'll see her/him giving me the evil eye. The male and female share the responsibility of brooding. I can't tell them apart. This nest is positioned in a tangle of crossvine. First egg was laid May 17. There are four in all. Incubation is reportedly 11-14 days. I feel something will happen soon!

Entomology one-oh-one

house wren with earwig


house wren with spider

Name that worm?

I went out this evening to watch the house wrens taking food to their young in the bluebird box. Would've gotten better photos earlier in the day but it was too bleeping hot. I was more interested in identifying prey than in getting glamour shots, but the lighting was too poor to get sharp focus necessary for positive ID. Some kind of caterpillar?

Orange crush

Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)


Blanket flower (Gaillardia)


Hypericum 'Albury Purple'


Marigolds

Almost blueberry season

Mother bluebird

A predator to be reckoned with. (Click to enlarge.)

Catalpa tree

at abandoned homestead

Rust

Poppy + rain

I can relate, little guy

Got attacked by the prickly pear cactus yesterday. I still have stickies in my fingers.

Rouge

Coral honeysuckle (this is the North American native—Lonicera sempervirens)


Opium poppy. Hard to get a good shot of it because the petals were already droopy.


Spirea. It was a passalong without a name, but it looks like 'Magic Carpet'.