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| Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden |
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| In contrast with the rest of the country, visiting California in the winter, with all of its amazing succulents, will have you wanting to move to the West Coast. But what would you grow? too many choices, I have grown comfortable with a steady march of dead plants that get too much sun, humidity, or cold. I don't want too many choices, give me Texas, where its cause for celebration if something survives for multiple years. |
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| What!? Aloes have flowers? |
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| South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes, California |
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| Allen's hummingbird - taken from a distance with my cell phone. |
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| Allen's hummingbird, from this angle the iridescent feathers turn from black to vermillion. |
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| Juniper Hairstreak |
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| Thelocactus macdowellii |
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| Thelocactus macdowellii |
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| Late Winter flowers from Aloe maculata, Euphorbia rigida, Drummond Creeping Phlox and Sedum palmeri. |
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| Coryphantha macromeris - Unlike most cactus this cactus has a large tap root underground, sometimes as large as the structure above ground. |
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| Coryphantha macromeris, reliably cold hardy to at least 10° Fahrenheit. |
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| Zebra longwing butterfly, Heliconius charithonia |
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| Zebra longwing butterfly, Heliconius charithonia |
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| I knew these butterflies could be found in my west Austin neighborhood because I had seen one in a deep canyon the first month we moved here. I didn't think that I would have to wait so long to see another one, after seven years I finally spotted one flitting through the back yard. I watched "her" like a hawk and sure enough she laid an egg on our passion vine which I was able to raise to adulthood. |
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| Zebra longwing butterfly, Heliconius charitonia |
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| Zebra longwing butterfly, Heliconius charithonia |
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| Zebra longwing, Heliconius charithonia often also spelled Heliconius charitonia |
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| I was so excited to see this visitor circling below our back deck, the only Heliconius charithonia to visit in 12 years and I look everyday to see one come by. |
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| And even more excited to see that the visitor was a "she" and she deposited a small cluster of golden eggs (center of photograph). |
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| Only one would survive to adulthood, but was a very health specimen indeed. |
