Lots of wonder and awe yesterday at our weekly restoration party at Skyline Gardens. We watched a European Mantis gyrate on its legs as if it were a plant stem swaying in the wind.

I discovered that there are white variants of Hayfield Tarweed! (I had only seen yellow before.)

And then there was this complete rattlesnake skin. Look at those eyes!

My favorite photo from the day was of this Goldenaster going to seed.

Glen Schneider often half-jokingly calls us, “Cult of the Brown.” To love California native plants is to appreciate them in all seasons, including summer, when most of them go dormant and look dead to our colonized eyes.

Volunteering at Skyline Gardens has enabled me to see the lifecycle of these plants up-close, to observe how alive this place is, even in the dry season. It has reminded me that all living things need rest to flourish and to feel joy when I see them getting what they need.