Mastodawn

AI6YR Ben Mar 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

AI6YR Ben Mar 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

AI6YR Ben Mar 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

AI6YR Ben Mar 1

Garden bed. Needs a lot more soil, and sides. Arugula has gone bitter, too hot. #gardening

AI6YR Ben Mar 1

Sunlight levels outside the aluminet (20.5), in shade (17), under aluminet (19). Don't know what that is in lumens or percentages. #shade

AI6YR Ben Mar 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

AI6YR Ben Mar 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

Clueless lizard got stuck in some metal mesh... twice. Check out his blue belly! Moved him over on top of the compost pile. #lizard

@ai6yr cool!

j-r conlin Mar 2

I love my fence sitters! They're adorable.

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

AI6YR Ben Mar 2

@jrconlin Bob, Bob. Bob, bob...

Darwin Woodka Mar 2

@ai6yr they're so dumb. Had one we rescued like three times from the same fenceline.

@ai6yr what does the blue mean? Are those scales new?

j-r conlin Mar 2

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

@jrconlin @ai6yr Appreciate the answer! In my head maybe those places were where the lizard got stuck and it healed like that.

@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 🦎

14mission Mar 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

me_valentijn Mar 2

@ai6yr
Bright blue belly lizard looks unamused 😂

@ai6yr what a looker!