Okay, where are they? Shouldn't they be emerging soon? They're in Davis and Suisun. Why not Vacaville? We've been waiting--not so patiently after this long winter--for the reappearance of the showy Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) on our passionflower vine (Passiflora).
This is a sad time to be an avocado. Winter's gone and temperatures are just ripe for flowering and the trees are going bust. So much so, that those sad leaves that have accumulated salts over the last year are being dropped and only flowers might be seen, especially on young trees.
We're not the only ones "celebrating" the first week of spring. The oleander aphids are doing a happy dance on our milkweed plants. We think they're doing a mixture of the tango, cha-cha-cha, salsa and merengue.
It's definitely a bee friendly plant, packed with nectar and pollen. The cherry laurel, Prunus caroliniana, a member of the rose family, draws honey bees as if there's no tomorrow.
Last month I contributed a small article for Rice Farming Magazine. I used data generated by the UC Weed Project to illustrate the point of how difficult, complicated and expensive weed control can be once herbicide-resistant weeds are established in a field.
Many orchards in California are planted on slopes, the most extreme examples are usually avocado orchards with some slopes exceeding 50%. They pose difficulties in harvesting because of the steepness, but also in their irrigation.
At first glance, it appeared to be a gnat circling our head. Then it landed on our passionflower vine (Passiflora). It cooperatively stayed still for a photo (taken with a Nikon D800 mounted with a 105mm macro lens) and then returned to its nest, a hole in the ground.
