A very hot day

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in the hills – the trip to Maryland and Washington DC and working last week (on a team writing the district biology pretest) so Friday MTB and I headed up for a hike.  The day was hazy, maybe from the California fires, and hot.  We took a leisurely hike along the creek bed, to the north meadow and  a little beyond into forest.

There are some large thistle by the camper that were in full bloom.  I don’t know what this insect is.  Any ideas?  Is it a bee or a bee mimic?

We came across a very pretty flower that I have a photo of from a few years ago.  MTB tried to key it out, but without success.

Back at the camper, Dad has been working on expanding the area for the sawmill.  He moved the mill to the space below and moved all the old logs that had been taking up space.  Next week we will remove some oakbrush from the bank and expanding the area.  Both jobs with the crawler.