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This cute critter was recently spotted nibbling on a volunteer plant in the hummingbird garden. 
All of the established, and apparently tasty, Pride of Madeira (echium fastuosum) in the Demonstration Garden were killed by last winter's sustained freezing temperatures, but, luckily, the strikingly beautiful perennials self sow and new plants now dot the landscape. 
In time, they will look like the flowering specimen in the bottom photo. Photos by Les Dublin.
If you can resist eating them, artichokes turn into beautiful flowers, and provide food for the bees! 
Even if you eat the artichokes, the beautiful leaves makes the artichoke a good choice for the edible landscape. 
Photos by Les Dublin.
while Evan & Jessie Austin are celebrating their newborn baby Noa Mae, Megumi and I are pleased by the ripening of our first melons. a bit of an effort to find watermelons with seeds in Valley shops, yet we did find one at Farmer & the Cook last year ... and saved the seeds for this summer's garden.
[and we did find an organic watermelon with seeds just this afternoon, at the organic garden house stand on Ojai Avenue just in from Highway 150 at Tico Rd. ] this watermelon, above, we cracked a week ago ... and another (unripe, white flesh) one yesterday, for a great low-sugar cleansing. our first cantalopes and muskemelons reached the table yesterday as well ... and we are looking forward to the ripening of some of our more exotic heirlooms, gophers permitting ...
Smoke from the Zaca fire obscured the sun and created a dramatic light in the western sky late Friday afternoon. 
Drifting ash softly dusted the plants in the City of Ojai Community Demonstration Garden. Photo by Les Dublin.