Spotted Nomad Bee

It is always fun when I find something new in my garden - and today's fun find was this Spotted Nomad Bee (Nomada maculata), measuring about 9 mm.  I initially thought it was some sort of tiny wasp or maybe even a sawfly.  It was working on the blossoms of some of the wild (and invasive) multifloral rose that has taken over a patch of our garden and it was extremely flitty which made it hard to photograph.  Never mind that it was only about 18 inches above the ground so I was sprawled in the most awkward position to try to get a lateral shot.  A semi-dorsal shot in Extra.

I also found a Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle in the same patch and had a momentary dilemma as to which to blip.  But I'm more likely to find another of the lady beetles than the nomad bee.  Or at least that is my hope!

Hubs and I made another trip to one of the local garden centers today and bought some really pretty bright yellow barberries for the front of the house.  I am normally not a fan of barberries but these are such a pretty color that I felt an exception could be made.  I also got a hanging basket of petunias (red) which are lovely.

The fiber optic installation crew is still hard at work on the Lane.  Hubs was talking with one of them last evening and learned that they were completely unprepared for the amount of rock that sits just below the surface of our lawns.  Consequently, they are way, way behind in their projections and planning to work the entire weekend.  Honestly, rocky soil in this part of the county should not come as any surprise - we are built on limestone for heaven's sake!  There are boulders the size of Buicks out there.

I think plain dark today.

xo
Debbi