June’s hot, dry weather slipped stealthily into July as we became mired in one of those infamous heat domes for weeks. Our rabbitbrush shrubs, usually late summer bloomers, burst into piles of brilliant yellow flowers a full month before normal, and for the first week of their premature bloom, not a single pollinator was in sight. I was so concerned the over abundance of nectar would dry up, pollen would blow haphazardly away, and seeds wouldn’t form. Then one morning I woke to find hundreds of butterflies, weevils, flies and bees flitting, crawling and buzzing about, nearly covering the shrubs completely in a pollination frenzy! How did they know? Where did they come from? What a relief for me, but it must’ve been an unimaginable relief for all of those pollinators that happened upon our oasis in the desert.
And so it went, all month…. bursts of early blooms rapidly completing their floral life cycles, thanks to urgently feeding pollinators.
This is how I remember July, with everything in bloom at once, the air full of pollen and pollinators. It was quite a sight!
Once again, a big shout-out to “Made by Fay” for the inspiring “Littles” idea! Stay tuned for the next installment of “Littles.”
September 4, 2023
a curious nature 
Wow, Barb, such stunning artwork, and what a blazing hot summer we’ve all had apparently. We’re you affected by the wildfires at all? We were affected by the fires in northern Quebec, a couple days we couldn’t even leave the house it was so bad. I went off on an epic adventure this summer with my two oldest granddaughters to England (to visit my half brother and family) and a day trip to France…my website is still not ready to go, I will have to make the time to add content this fall. Anyway, hope all is well with you!
Jane xox
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Wow, thanks so very much, Jane! We’ve been very hot, but not affected by wildfires like you. Relieved our wildfire incidents were minimal! I’ve been wondering about your overseas extravaganza with your granddaughters. Send me an email with all the news and a photo or more! Doing great here, and definitely looking forward to when you get your website up and running! But first, enjoy the rest of your summer!
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What a lovely sighting that must have been to see the pollinator frenzy! I love that you had several butterfly visitors — ours have disappeared for the winter. Such a beautiful way to capture the memories of your month in a Littles page! Thanks for sharing your July with us!
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Thank you very much for the comments and for following my posts, Karen! It means a lot! The butterflies this year have been phenomenal! Even the last 2 weeks there’s been so many painted ladies, when I go outside to do anything, it’s like walking through a colorful cloud!
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