wildflowers

Pollinator Week: BC Bees & Wanna-bees

A bumble bee sipping at camas 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.

Camas in Bloom: Beautiful Variations in Hue

Camas - 20.5.3

More photos:

Secret of the ghost swing

Trumpet Honeysuckle - 20.5.15

Known in some Salishan languages as the 'swing of the ghost' (or of the owl: q’ít’əәʔəәtsəәspəәlq^wít’^thəәʔ), this beautiful western trumpet honeysuckle provides food and shelter for at least 20 bird species in our area, and is also frequented by swallowtail butterflies. Likewise, amongst hominids, its nectar has served as a natural treat for children, its leaves and bark used for medicine, and its stems for building bridges.

Trumpet Honeysuckle - 20.5.15

Spring gold (Lomatium utriculatum) Spring gold (Lomatium utriculatum)

Today was likely the last sunny day we'll have here over the next week, so Kate and I spent some time out removing invasive daphne and scotch broom, both of which spread easily, crowding out the native ecosystem. After a fair deal of grunting and sweating, we made a very satisfying amount of headway.

#Meanwhile, I encountered a few more of our non-human neighbors...

See more photos in the Scuttleverse: %wN8TxyoN7kTIv9MLcPr2awcSWUdmd0rKpY7jtNSfVjY=.sha256

March 31, '10: Chickadee stuffing nest box

#Meanwhile

satin-flower A slopeside satin flower (Olsynium douglasii) heralds the return of spring.

March 4, '84: Satin flower on my slope

#Meanwhile

A hover fly tours the snowberry blossoms as an olive-sided flycatcher leads a chorus of trills and chirps.

September 19, 1998 - wild pigeon (band-tailed) purposefully flies thru
hose spray I hold + stays, as I repeat, to drench - drinking & preening

#Meanwhile

A sweat bee (Lasioglossum?) eagerly gathers pollen from the anthers of a camas flower.