Iron Mountain Road is open!

Now we can get to Thunder Mountain and Carson Pass.

Watch for Butterflies...

Watch for the first butterflies of the season: Pieris rapae, the Cabbage White. Described as one of the most common butterflies, that doesn't diminish the pleasure you can take from watching one for a few minutes, waiting for it to land,...and stay put! On my first trip in early June I found Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) and California Tortoiseshells (Nymphalis californica) in abundance. I also found Nelson's Hairstreak, a very pretty small butterfly when seen through the close-focusing binoculars I am so pleased to have!

Watch along roadsides or areas where the woolly sunflower is blooming. There are numbers of butterflies out on the first "wildflowers" of the season so find some flowers and stand by; it shouldn't be too long before a butterfly stops by.

Waiting for the June Bloom?

I confess that as much as I have come to appreciate grasses, that appreciation has come from inspecting the seed heads. There is a huge difference (in my current way of thinking) in what a grass looks like as a new grass vs. what it will become as it dries. Still, this is the time to start getting involved with at least looking close (10x loupe) at the forming seed heads. They are unexpectedly pretty. Harrington's How to Identify Grasses is an inexpensive and well-illustrated field guide to grass species.

It's Not Too Late to Plant a Garden

Not so much for vegetables, rather for the flowers that attract ... butterflies! Yes, I'm sold on watching these bugs. To get the butterflies to stop by, I have good success with lantana and verbena, but also just supplied some daisies, zinnias, and a buddleja (aka 'butterfly bush'). You should have some flat-topped, nectary plants near your windows. It's fun to see who will show up.

Check what's good and what's bad to have in your yard: thumbs up | thumbs down.

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