Stop and smell the roses.

Yes, we should all do that. We should take time out of our busy schedules to appreciate the beauty of nature, the beauty of roses, the beauty of a single yellow rose. 

But sometimes there's a bonus in those roses, depending on whether you like jumping spiders or honey bees.

We spotted this little jumping spider (about the size of our little fingernail) on a yellow rose, "Sparkle and Shine," this morning. Tucked within the folds of the rose petals, the jumper looked like a tiny black spot, a period at the end of a sentence.

Nearby, honey bees foraged on other roses. They sparkled and they shined.

No arthropods were harmed in the making of these photos. 

Monarch caterpillar nibbling on milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

You're yearning to see monarch eggs, caterpillars and chrysalids on milkweed. Ditto for the pipevine swallowtails on their host plant, Dutchman's pipe.

You also want some butterfly bushes and other nectar plants.

And you're thinking of replacing your drought-stricken lawn with drought-tolerant plants.

You're in luck!

The UC Davis Arboretum Plant Sale is Saturday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive. (See directions)

"We're going to have a lot plants -- over 16,000 – including lots of Arboretum All-Stars in honor of their 10-year anniversary,"  spokesperson Katie Hetrick told us today.

The All-Stars are 100 specially selected plants "that have provided California with a foundation for creating attractive, easy-care landscapes that save water." A large selection of Arboretum All-Stars, California natives, and other regionally appropriate plants will be available.

The public sale offers benefits for Arboretum members, who can save 10 percent. Non-members can join at the door. For additional information, see benefits of memberships.

What's available at the plant sale? Is there a list? Yes, and folks are checking it twice!  You can access it on the website or download the PDF.

While you're on the campus, you can explore the 100-acre UC Davis Arboretum, a horticultural and cecreational treasure filled with scientific collections, demonstration gardens, educational information and art work. You can walk or bike the trails. Bring your camera.

If you're lucky, a monarch will flutter by.

Honey bees were all over the Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis) on Monday, Oct. 19 at the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, Santa Rosa.

They just could not get enough of the colorful flower, also known as a windflower or thimbleweed. Thought to be a native of central China, the hupehensis is distinguished by its five rounded, evenly spaced petals. However, the wind and rain earlier knocked off a few petals, adding to their character and charisma. 

Robert Fortune (1812-1880) introduced the Chinese plant to Europe in 1844. He apparently discovered it in a Shanghai cemetery while he was running around the tombstones.

Now the "windflower" is just one of the flowers that graces the Luther Burbank Gardens. 

On our visit to the gardens, we could almost see Luther Burbank puttering around.  Born on a farm in Lancaster, Mass. in 1849, the 13th of 15th children, he moved to Santa Rosa in 1875 and built a nursery and greenhouse to pursue his work as a botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science. He  also maintained a working farm, The Gold Ridge Farm, in nearby Sebastopol. Both are open to the public.

Over his 55-year career, Burbank  developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants, including varied fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables. 

If you haven't been to the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens or to the Gold Ridge Farm, you should go--and see what he developed, from the Shasta daisy to the Russet Burbank potato to the Santa Rosa plum. 

And check out the honey bees foraging on the flowers...

Strange weather we're having here in Central California.

After soaring into the 90s, the temperatures pushed again into the 80s today (Oct.21). The Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are "making the most-est" of their host plant, passionflower vines. Blossoms keep popping up like so much popcorn. And the Gulf Frits are there to lay their eggs all over the plant, including the  tendrils, leaves, stems and blossoms.

The showy reddish-orange butterfly with the silver-spangled wings is a favorite this time of year. It's sort of like a Halloween gift before Thanksgiving.

We remember when it vanished in the Sacramento-Davis area and was even considered extinct around here in the early 1970s.

Butterfly expert Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, sounded the alarm back then. He knows its history well.

“It first appeared in the vicinity of San Diego in the 1870s,” he told us.  “It spread through Southern California in urban settings and was first recorded in the Bay Area about 1908. It became a persistent breeding resident in the East and South Bay in the 1950s and has been there since.”

Since 2000, the Gulf Frit has been recolonizing again throughout the area. Thankfully!

The butterfly lays its eggs only on passionflower vines (genus Passiflora)--lots of eggs--so expect the caterpillars to skeletonize the plant. It's a good idea to offer some nearby nectar for the adults, too. Their favorites include the butterfly bush, Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) and lantana. 

Let's see, fall began Sept. 23, and winter arrives Dec. 21.

For the Gulf Frits, it might as well be spring!