This morning I walked down our 1/3 mile driveway to get the newspaper. I was in such a funk I didn't even notice that it was foggy until I got down to the bottom.  A light fog fills our valley often in August.

 After the fog burned off, I drove our UTV up on the back part of our land to plant peach and plum pits. I hadn't been up there for over a month and who know what could be up there.

I was delighted to find mist flowers growing on the very back---up on the side of the mountain. These flowers are often found at the local nurseries but are native to this area.


This soldier beetle seemed to be the only insect on the flowers.


Lots of knapweed (maybe Brown?) bloomed in the back grown up pasture attracting honey bees like this one. As a beekeeper, I had been wondering where my bees have been foraging lately. They go out early coming back to the hive with loads of yellow and white pollen and of course nectar. The knapweed was full of them so that's where they're going.

I also saw several Buckeye butterflies on the knapweeds and grasses here. Everytime I see a buckeye, I am reminded of the time when I did a lot of embroidery when I lived in Logan, Utah in the 1970s. I had such a good reputation for doing jean embroidery that a friend asked me to embroider his wedding shirt (cowboy shirt of course). I ended up embroidering a giant buckeye butterfly on the back which he loved. I thought I had a picture of it but alas no.




This Buckeye was rather worn for wear. 

I planted the peach and plum pits in this pasture so I'm hoping someday to pick fruit along with allowing the pasture to grow up with native flowers attracting butterflies and bees.

There's nothing like getting outside and enjoying nature to lift your mood!