Butterflies, Caterpillars, and Moonflower Seeds

The gardens are alive with butterflies, bees, birds, and caterpillars. Yellow and white skippers are abundant, and swallowtails, monarchs, painted ladies, and fritillaries are frequent visitors as well. The front courtyard, which is visible from most rooms in the house, provides a picture window view to all of the activity.

Rain and Moonflowers

At long last we got measurable rain last night. We are still in an extreme drought condition, and it looks like that will not change any time soon, but the half an inch of rain that we got yesterday was extremely welcome.

The moonflowers were opening this evening just before sundown, and I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of the huge snow white blooms. I love the contrast of the white against the dark green foliage.