Look at that lovely color of clay. That's what I get for excavating and ripping out a whole area of wild strawberries, and in turn, received payback in the form of erosion. The downpour this past Friday totaled almost 3½ inches in a few hours, and I was worried for the damage that would inevitably happen on our garden slope. Thank goodness only torn leaves and nicked tomatoes during an instance of hail. The strawberries, looking more robust than ever the day after, are about the size of a fingernail and very sweet. They flourish like weeds in the back lot - I was so excited the first time I tried them (they grow all over the mountainside) and would raid the patches every season. That was pre-garden, because as our edible eden took shape, the strawberries were always in the way. We don't have any wild critters to curb the berry population. Come to think of it, we don't have a problem with birds either, but I credit the dogs for chasing them out of the yard during the day.
I was going to ask for help in identifying this orange & black-spotted caterpillar, but after googling bruco verde (green caterpillar), I eventually found the connection to Old World Swallowtail. The only butterflies that I've ever known are monarchs, so this is somewhat of a thrill as there are two caterpillars on the wild fennel. This one in particular stayed in the same position all day long! Neither camera-in-its-space or petting its back made any difference whatsoever. He must have had too much to eat and fell asleep right away.
Average daytime temperature: 24°C / 75°F