The Real Dirt

Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) is an attractive green plant with small yellow flowers commonly seen growing prostrate along the side of the road. A native to Southern Europe, it's also referred to as goathead. However, underneath its foliage lies danger: spiky seedpods with needle-point spikes.

Why are wine bottles tall and narrow? That distinctive shape contributes to the happy marriage between cork and a bottle made tall enough to lie on its side so the wine can breathe through the cork as it matures.

By this time of year the lush growth and colorful flowers of spring are just a memory. Many California native plants go dormant in the summer, waiting for the fall and winter rains before they grow again. Some plants, like California buckeye, are already losing their leaves.

The decline in numbers of European honeybees, bumblebees and other native pollinators has been well documented for over a decade. Research exploring pollinator decline began in earnest in 2006 when Colony Collapse Disorder, affecting honeybees, first appeared.

Redbuds in bloom are a most welcome harbinger of spring. Their dense clusters of magenta flowers bloom early, providing splashes of color against a winter landscape of browns and grays.