Inspired Gardening

Snowmelt continues to flow into creeks and to create ephemeral waterfalls

while wildflowers and shrubs have started filling the mountains with color once again. Each week

brings something new.

Last weekend, we found a hillside covered in blue ceanothus and bright yellow bush poppies.

Phacelia distans

Owl's clover

Fortunately, the hillsides that were blackened two years ago are slowly recovering with wildflowers. 

What a great treat to discover new bursts of color coming out of the otherwise dismal landscape.

Scarlet bugler

Lupine

Showy penstemon

Being surrounded by such beautiful native plants has inspired me to be a better gardener.

These are a few of my favorite flowers that I have planted in our backyard a couple of years ago. Summers get mighty hot and dry plus we have resident chipmunks, squirrels and gophers so not everything I plant is successful. These are doing pretty well though.

This spring, I planted one of my all-time favorite flowers - the California Poppy. Currently, I have 3 plants. Maybe one day, I'll have a huge orange field replacing my present dirt patch. That is certainly a dream of mine!

Happy gardening from King Frog and me!

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

For more information about native plants of California or to purchase them, go to

Tree of Life nursery. https://californianativeplants.com/

I just discovered this website which includes some educational virtual workshops. I plan to make a trip there soon.

Blooms and Feathers Among the Cactus

Beavertail Cactus

Prickly Pear Cactus

Before moving to the southwest, I had zero knowledge of the amazing diversity of plants that flourish in this region. California is considered a biodiversity hotspot due to the high number of endemic species that are located here. That includes 61percent of the 3,500 species of plants unique to this area. Despite my minimal knowledge of plants, I never grow tired of the blooms that begin to appear each Spring. They are critical to a healthy ecosystem that supports all the critters and insects that make it their home.

View from Cactus Springs trail

Years ago, a dear ornithologist friend told me that one day I would want to be a Master Gardener since I was a bird lover. I didn't quite understand at the time but I do now. We support birds and other pollinators such as butterflies and bees when we are gardening.

Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata)

Scott's Oriole (Icterus parisorum)

These are a couple of the birds that showed themselves to me on this arid trail.

Yucca

When you are used to living in a forest of trees, you don't think of the few woodpeckers that need to make a nest in a landscape with little or no trees. The Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris) is one that can utilize yucca snags for nesting.

Giant Four O'Clock
When I started my early morning hike, these beauties were like this but a few hours later, they had totally closed up- a good technique for avoiding the heat of the intense sun. Next stop, the high country for inspiration for my own garden.

Click on photos to enlarge.
Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Mountain Dazzlers

Violet-green Swallows (Tachycineta thalassina)

The swallows are back! Every day, these airborne devourers of insects have been regularly flying over our house on the hill. Evidently, we have plenty of food for them. Notice how long their wings are compared to their tail. A few were eyeing out this inviting hole. Since they don't excavate their own holes for nests, they rely on preexisting cavities usually created by woodpeckers.

Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)

These beauties finally arrived in our black oak tree this week. I've been expecting them every day since they return almost to the day every year. What an exciting morning when we looked out the window and three of these male tanagers were foraging on insects.


Black-headed Grosbeak ( Pheucticus melanocephalus)

Like the grosbeak, they spend their winter in Mexico or Central America. We get to enjoy both of these colorful birds in the mountains during the summer.

Mystery bird

Lighting is everything when you are trying to photograph a bird! Identification can sometimes be done just by the silhouette of the bird but you definitely can't enjoy the colors without the right angle of light.

Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena)

This is the mystery bird IN the light! Check out the gorgeous turquoise blue feathers! This was the other new bird that brought a huge smile to my face this week! They bring beauty to the previous charred forest.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Our resident hummingbird is a master at dazzling!

Celebrating the return of birds to our mountains!

Photos and content by Robin Roberts
Click on photos to enlarge.

Nighttime Prowlers

Who is prowling around your house at night? 

In the last month or two, we have captured a couple of cute prowlers.

Racoon, grey fox....

Mountain Lion by Dave Pelham

Our friends, Dave and Barb, however, have a strong, healthy mountain lion traveling

 through their yard.

Celebrate the wildlife day and night!

Photos and content by Robin Roberts

Click on photos to enlarge.

Spring Snow

What a week! Spring has definitely been put on hold. With days of snow, it felt more like a winter storm in January or February. Marcia, a good friend, described it perfectly when she said that watching the huge snowflakes fall outside her window was like being inside of a snow globe. Perfect analogy!

What a beautiful sight! Snow on the mountains! Having lived in this area during a drought and wildfires, late winter or early spring snowstorms are a gift!

With this scene out my window one morning, my first task was to knock off all the feeders especially the hummingbird feeders.

Thanks to the early Spring blooming manzanitas, the hummingbirds have an alternative if the supplemental feeders are covered in snow. What a relief!

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli)

What better time than now to get to know the birds in your own backyard. The snowy conditions brought lots of frequently seen birds along with some infrequent visitors.

Cassin's Finches (Carpodacus cassinii)

These beautiful pink-tinged males are usually found in the high country but sometimes in the winter, they can be found downslope in our area. Seven of these finches found our backyard feeders this week. I suspect that they will head up to the high country as the snow starts to melt.

The temperatures will warm and the snow will melt but for now, we are enjoying the last fires of the season.

This quote is on a plaque in a turnout on a windy, mountain road to the desert. It is a reminder for people to be careful as they drive down the steep mountain. I read it recently and thought it was appropriate to share now in light of the pandemic.

"Maintain a grateful awareness of the time given you to share with your loved ones

And remember those who innocently lost what you may take for granted."

For a beautiful musical message of hope and healing by Andrea Bocelli from Milan, go to
Andrea Bocelli

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Spring isn't Canceled

What a relief! Spring is marching on despite the terrible pandemic.

It's a little slow to arrive up here in the mountains. We thought it was officially here last week, but as you can see by the current forecast, we may end up doing some shoveling before the week is over.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

It's been an exciting week at the hummingbird feeders. Our beautiful resident Anna's hummingbird has had to share the feeder with migrants and other returning hummers.

Calliope Hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope) by Adam Roberts

This Calliope hummingbird found our feeder on its long journey. These birds are the smallest breeding North American birds and they are the smallest long-distant migrants (Calder, 2020). Imagine they spend the winter as far south as Mexico and some travel as far north as Canada to nest. As you can see by the previous photo, they can be overlooked when they are sharing a feeder with other hummers but they are smaller if you compare sizes.

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)

During the same week, a few of these bold hummingbirds arrived. They are quite determined to fill up on the nectar with good reason. They, too, have a long migration route each year. These birds travel to the northwest and Canada each year to nest.

Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) by Dave Pelham

The other exciting new bird of the week is the black-headed grosbeak. It showed up both in our yard and our neighbor's nearly simultaneously. These are the birds that bring beautiful songs to our forest every morning. They have returned from Mexico to breed in our mountains. Lucky us!

California Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica)

This pair of jays that live in our yard aren't too thrilled with the new arrival. Hopefully, the grosbeak will persevere. Although the scrub-jays are quite intelligent, they sure aren't as musical as the grosbeaks.

Western Grey Squirrel

As I sit here working on my blog post, this cute furry squirrel has been gobbling up all the birdseed that is out for the birds. Normally, I would scare him off of the feeder since he has a kazillion pine cones he can choose from but isn't he adorable?

Various pals

Since the weather is going to be harsh this week, consider putting out some "nectar' for hummingbirds. The migrants need to fatten up to restore their energy for their long journey.

Finally, you may want to join others around the world by putting up some "animals" in your windows for the kids and other neighbors who are walking past your house. There is a huge worldwide scavenger hunt going on right now. It started when kids were missing their friends due to the cancelation of school and social distancing. For more about this story, go to

Teddy Bear Scavenger Hunt Worldwide

Keep healthy and enjoy Spring!

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content (unless specified) by Robin Roberts

.Calder, W. A. and L. L. Calder (2020). Calliope Hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.

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