A robber fly celebrates a successful heist by slurping out the liquefied innards of its ambushed prey.
up + down looking in at me. many visits
Mystery of the Alien-Pod
A couple of weeks ago, Seán found a mysterious, silvery pod on the ground beside the house, about the size of a lime. It appeared to have been there for a while, as it was very light and seemed dried out. We took our guesses: was it a plant-pod? Some kind of egg sac? I thought it might be an owl-pellet, due to it's hairy outside texture, shape and size. We decided to lovingly refer to it as the “alien pod”:
There was only one thing to do in order to solve the mystery – cut it open:
Little Paintings: Robin in the Bath
Seán and I have recently been scheming new ways to creatively capture scenes around the Hill, so I halved some card-paper offcuts I got from an art store. Now we have a nice stack of 3x3.5'' pieces that we're gradually making into tiny paintings.
One of my first attempts is a common sight around here: a fluffed-up, staring robin soaking in the bath:
A tiny metallic green cuckoo wasp timidly peeks out of a habitat log hole, taking in the world beyond through its periscopic antennae.
June 15 - two pink naked babies today + 1 blue egg to go
June 29, 9:30am - 3 robin chicks left nest
Pollinator Week: Got Nectar?
Looks like someone's had a busy day of pollinating while filling up on the sweet stuff!
Pollinator Week: BC Bees & Wanna-bees
A happy bumble bee enjoying the offerings of a camas / kwetlal flower
A couple of years ago, Kate and I began our journey towards becoming certified Pollinator Stewards thanks to Island Pollinator Initiative's wonderful webinar series. The first session enlightened us about the importance of pollinators to food production and biodiversity, with a special focus on BC's native bees.
- ...Who Calls?
- A Morning Surprise
- Encounter with Sleepy Young Ravens
- Path to Enlichenment Pt. I & II
- Web Reads: Free wild birds & Creative processes
- Camas in Bloom: Beautiful Variations in Hue
- In Bloom: Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana)
- Secret of the Ghost Swing
- Happy World Migratory Bird Day!
- Weed-of-the-Week: Stinky Bob
- Hum Hill Recipe Corner: Simple Banana Oat Pancakes
- Pysanky a Plenty
- 🌱 Sounds of the first spring morning 🎶
- Bewick's Bird Card + Farewell-to-Spring
- Artistic Inspiration: Drift Body
- 🎶 On Sunday She Left Us A Cherry 🎵
- Hummingtunes II
- Tread Lightly: Wildflowers On The Slope
- Weed-of-the-Week: Sticky Willy
- Birdhouse Findings: Part I, II, & III
- Meanwhile...
#Meanwhile: The ants go marching... with larvae 
Millions of female worker ants carry the queen's larvae through a vast, treacherous landscape (known to us as 'the garden'). Watch them go...
...Who Calls?
Last week, as we were working in the garden, we suddenly heard a loud, spooky & exasperated-sounding voice ask, “Who, who, who, WHO COOKS FOR YOOOOUUU?!”*
“We cook for each other, actually...” we replied, timidly. “Who, who, who's asking?”
The answer to this question was perched upon the branch of a nearby Douglas-fir:
A glittering male Anna's hummingbird mingles with the matching reds and greens of a Nootka rosebush, resting between defensive beak-jousting rows.