AI6YR BenMar 1
Building up the sides of an existing garden bed, and putting on a squirrel discouraging top of some sort. Calendula, arugula, a few assorted edible weeds. Original bottom is pallet wood. Two current issues here I am fixing: not deep enough for soil, squirrels. Last year I walked out here and there were 6 squirrels UNDER the squirrel "proof" cover. #gardening
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
Way too hot now, so deployed the heatwave tarp (metallic woven mesh, aluminet). Let's air through but reduces UV and sunlight. #aluminet #heatwaves
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
First Monarch of the season. It apparently hatched out inside a squirrel excluding garden bed, had to rescue it. Yes, it's on my hat, lol. #butterfly #Monarch #gardening
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
Garden bed. Needs a lot more soil, and sides. Arugula has gone bitter, too hot. #gardening
Show threadAI6YR Ben
Sunlight levels outside the aluminet (20.5), in shade (17), under aluminet (19). Don't know what that is in lumens or percentages. #shade
Mar 1 at 9:09pmWeb
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
Massive, ugly grubs in the soil here. These hatch out to become green beetles.. (apparently too big to be Japanese beetles... they are ugly though... and the big green beetles fly at your face when they hatch lol) . #gardening
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 2
Bed filled with some potting soil, mixed with my existing garden soil for some inoculation, hopefully. Needs sides and top or the squirrel will eat it all. Another day... #gardening
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 2
Clueless lizard got stuck in some metal mesh... twice. Check out his blue belly! Moved him over on top of the compost pile. #lizard
Show threadAmy Edge Mar 2
@ai6yr cool!
Show threadj-r conlinMar 2

@ai6yr

I love my fence sitters! They're adorable.

And when they're doing the push-up thing, that's basically them saying "Hello".

Show threadAI6YR BenMar 2
@jrconlin Bob, Bob. Bob, bob...
Show threadDarwin WoodkaMar 2
@ai6yr they're so dumb. Had one we rescued like three times from the same fenceline.
Show threadSashinMar 2
@ai6yr what does the blue mean? Are those scales new?
Show threadj-r conlinMar 2

@sashin @ai6yr

It means it's a boy.

Western Fence Lizards are fairly common in California. They're cute little buggers that, like opossum, help keep pests under control and keep Lyme disease in check.

(They're called Fence Lizards (or Fence Sitters around here) because they love crawling in and on wooden fencing, partly because the absolutely go to town on termites.)

Western fence lizard - Wikipedia

Show threadSashinMar 2
@jrconlin @ai6yr Appreciate the answer! In my head maybe those places were where the lizard got stuck and it healed like that.
Show threadSoniaMar 2
@jrconlin @sashin @ai6yr I love seeing these little guys in the summer! Can always tell when its a good year by watching how big they get 🦎
Show thread14missionMar 2
@jrconlin @sashin @ai6yr Funny that I'm reading about Western lizards and Italian wall lizards on the same day: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/28/conservation-biodiversity-species-genetics-wall-lizards-aeolian-italy-aoe
‘Who’d guess they’re the same species?’ What Italy’s wall lizards reveal about genetic diversity and why it matters

Understanding biodiversity within species is key to our understanding of why nature works the way it does, say researchers

The Guardian
Show threadme_valentijnMar 2
@ai6yr
Bright blue belly lizard looks unamused 😂
Show threadJL Johnson Mar 2
@ai6yr what a looker!
Show threadBartoszMar 2
@ai6yr how well do those ollas actually work? I've only heard about them, haven't tried myself
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 2
@RakowskiBartosz As long as you remember to keep them filled, I think they help a lot with keeping the soil moist, especially during high heat/winds. Plants definitely put their roots up against the clay.
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 2
@RakowskiBartosz That said, I have issues keeping a number of mine full... drain out in a day.
Show threadDesert Square GardenerMar 2
@ai6yr
I see some carrot plants that have been growing awhile.
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 2
@desertsquare Yep, moved them from underneath. I'd like to let the rabbits here have more greens here (rather than from the farmer's market), but they are competing against critters.
Show threadJanice in GAMar 1
@ai6yr Here too. Probably why we have a mole problem also.
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
@Archergal Ah yes, they are the favorite of raccoons and possums, too!
Show threadJanice in GAMar 1
@ai6yr Ah. We've had a few possum fatalities or near-fatalities in the last 6-7 years thanks to my dog Willow Possum-Bane. That might be what draws them in.
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
@Archergal AHA! I always worry the dog will run into a skunk here for the same reason. 😬
Show threadJanice in GAMar 1
@ai6yr I haven't seen skunks here (or raccoons, for that matter), but I’m notoriously unobservant. We have lotsa bunnies in the area though.
Show threadPS JenMar 1
@ai6yr I had so many of these in my compost in Simi we gave them to my sons turtles. I won't miss SV temps.
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
@potatosandwichjen Chickens love those things!
Show threadChuckMar 1
@ai6yr You wouldn't think that if you were a California black bear just out of hibernation. You'd say "Jackpot! Grubs!"
Show threadDa_GutMar 1
@ai6yr if they are largish green beetles, that sounds a lot more like what in Georgia we call June bugs. Which are native.
Japanese beetles are much smaller - about the size of a dime, and brown.
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
@Da_Gut Thanks! Much larger for sure.
Show threadDa_GutMar 1

@ai6yr

This is a June bug. The red circle shows where the female just buried out of sight to lay the eggs which will change into the grubs. I had captured the mating sequence.
These guys are maybe an inch to an inch and a half long? They are a common site buzzing and circling above the grass in late summer. Though far rarer than they were when I was a child.

Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
@Da_Gut Ah., very similar, I think the only difference is the location (June bugs not in California).
Show threadDa_GutMar 1
@ai6yr looking online may Beatles look very similar, but are far more destructive to yards. I do not know if they are found in California
Show threadcrispy branzino ☭ (sold out forever)Mar 1
@Da_Gut @ai6yr it is time to get chickens.
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
@Nimbius666 @Da_Gut LOL my son would love chickens in the backyard. As would the coyotes, owls, rats, raccoons, and Red Tail Hawks! 🤪
Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1

@Nimbius666 @Da_Gut AHA!

It's certainly this one... Cotinis mutabilis, the figeater beetle. There are a ton of them here, because they are attracted by a large tree I have a grape growing in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figeater_beetle

Figeater beetle - Wikipedia

Show threadDa_GutMar 2

@ai6yr @Nimbius666

Yeah. That certainly looks almost exactly like a June bug all right. Fig eater huh? I’ll read that Wikipedia article.
Cool beans!

Show threadDa_GutMar 1

@ai6yr

I’ll see your so-called large grub and raise you this. Which I found in Georgia. I was thinking it was a grub of a Hercules beetle which are native to Georgia. But since it was in a bag of red mulch from Home Depot, which had been busted open for several months, it might have been an Asian beetle which has been appearing in those and has similar sized grubs.

Show threadAI6YR BenMar 1
@Da_Gut WOW that this is MASSSIVE
Show threadrandMar 2
@ai6yr We had a tone of those a few years back, as I found them I tossed them into the street for the birds. Then I sprayed with nematodes and haven’t had any since.
Show threadFreddyB Aviation PhotographyMar 2
@ai6yr Compost those suckers
Show threadjbaggsMar 1
@ai6yr Cool old light meter.