I like this photo because it’s easy to see that what we perceive as a “flower” in the Aster family is really made up of many tiny flowers. You can see that several along the outside have opened while the rest in the center are still closed.

The bird on the left is an adult male Downy Woodpecker and he appears to be feeding his fledgling. The picture’s a little blurry, but I think it’s so adorable when the parents feed the babies.

A few years ago, we planted some Asclepias incarnata in order to attract butterflies. Bumblebees love it as well.

Here is a closeup of the flowers.

We frequently find this cat lurking near the bird feeder. He gets really nasty when you try to chase him away. It’s funny because when he’s not hunting he rolls on his back and purrs when he sees people.

The Rudbeckia hirta in the new perennial bed seems to be doing well.

The blue jay fledgling sits near the bird feeder and cries for his parents to feed him.

I believe this is a Nuthatch fledgling.

The chipmunk on the right is the friendly one. It’s a little scary that I can actually tell them apart.

This is the Red-bellied Woodpecker fledgling. It’s hard to see in this picture, but I think it’s a male. His parents have had one or two fledglings each year.