The Mason Bees are Active!

I put out my bees (from refrigeration) in mid-March. I added more tubes/reeds, since I have more bees this year. They have been very active in the last two weeks. Here is a photo of my "houses":

Here is a photo of a couple of the flowering currant bushes in my yard. These are some of the many plants the mason bees are getting pollen from:

 They are also visiting blueberries and several other flowering bushes and trees, such as these Choiysa ternata 'Aztec Pearl':

Red Admiral Butterfly

I took some pictures of a Red Admiral butterfly who was attracted to the water spray from the hose I was using to clean my garden tools. He landed on the retaining wall next to me and stayed for quite awhile, basking in the sun.