Monarch Butterfly on Cow Mountain

Lichen on old wood

Western Fence Lizard

Wavy grain on fallen log

Red milkweed beetle

Tetraopes tetrophthalmus

Phoebe on the Russian River

Hummingbird inspecting the sky for rivals

Abandoned junco nest

Deer in dry grass

Pink Sand Verbena

Lovely little endangered flower spotted in the Ten Mile Dunes.

Rattlesnake

Frog's-eye view

Insect in cinquefoil flower

Maple leaves in the sun

Mill Creek near Fort Bragg

Fence Lizard in a dock plant

Lacking any convenient fence posts, this Western Fence Lizard climbed up a dead dock stalk instead.

Killdeer chick at Ten Mile Dunes

Great Blue Heron eating a vole

Bracken ferns in the sun

Tarweed blooming

Hornet's nest

Moss on a madrone trunk

Goldfinch in buckwheat

Goldfinch clinging to the stems of a patch of wild buckwheat

Blue wasp

An electric blue wasp flitting around in the leaves, hunting for unwary spiders to prey upon.

Jackrabbit

I spotted this jackrabbit hiding out in some tall grasses and watching me, clearly hoping I would depart so it could get back to whatever jackrabbits do in private.

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Despite the odd perspective, this picture is not actually sideways. The trees are growing on a hillside and leaning away from the shadow of some redwoods out into the sun, and the woodpecker just happened to mimic their alignment by turning its head at the right moment.

Hummingbird

Male Anna's Hummingbird

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle flowers and berries together

Night Heron Preening

Night Heron at Mill Creek Pond, Ukiah, trying very hard to reach those neck feathers despite an inconveniently long beak.

White-faced hornet's nest

Papery white-faced hornet's nest suspended from an oak branch near Lake Mendocino. Many people fear them, but they are actually surprisingly peaceful -- and they hunt and eat the much more aggressive yellow jackets which make your summer months a misery.

Summer Reflections

Alder trees reflected in the waters of the Lower Pond on Mill Creek Road, Ukiah, California