It finally looks and feels like spring here, stormy and unsettled.

       A spring squabble between this goldfinch couple was soon over, their reconciliation unrecorded.

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American Goldfinch | Spinus tristis

A backyard house finch, cousin to the finches
which helped inspire Charles Darwin
to develop the principles of natural selection
and change our understanding of the world.
 

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House Finch | Carpodacus mexicanus

Finches often come to feed late, waiting perhaps for more solitude, buoyed by a sudden wind.

Laden with pollen from an afternoon’s work, a honey bee navigates the sunlit stalks of a Black-eyed Susan.

Red and black, and a true bug. Thanks to Diane for the ID.

This cute bug looks ready to leap into the wild unknown of 2009.

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Twice-stabbed Stink Bug | Cosmopepla lintneriana