This black Western Fence lizard refused to look my way — oh well.

I do love the season of autumn; but for right now I’m finding comfort in memories of last spring, a season of hope and optimism, when wildflowers sprang up all around and I was able to go out to the Phoenix Park vernal ponds in between rain showers to breathe the fresh air and practice my macro photography skills with my Canon Powershot, so rarely used these days.

Menzies’ fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii) in Phoenix Park

Ithuriel’s spear (Triteleia laxa)

Butter-and-eggs (Triphysaria eriantha)

Closer to home, I found vividly blooming roses soaking up the spring sunshine and stubborn dandelions, hosts of a newly hatched colony of dandelion aphids (Uroleucon taraxaci). I do apologize for the quality of of the aphid photo, but I was so fascinated by these tiny bugs I kept trying to get a better shot. I completely blame my sad attempts at shooting the aphids  on the fact I had been watching Instagram reels showing incredible macro photography — extreme closeups of several gorgeous spiders — for which I do not have the proper equipment, but that didn’t stop me from trying!