The now-blossoming globemallow...

in Castle Valley is attracting the tiny pollinating bees and I’m on the lookout for their ground-dwelling hives.

Globe mallow bee (Diadasia diminuta) on the common globemallow flower (Sphaeralcea coccinea).

UPDATE: Here’s a shot taken this evening as a bee settles in for a slumber as the blossom closes for the night.

The high desert is exploding with blossoms...

of a variety of wildflowers and shrubs following the very wet spring. It’s quite glorious.

Harriman’s yucca, also known as narrow-leaf yucca (Yucca harrimaniae).

Whipple’s fishhook cactus (Sclerocactus whipplei).

Yellow cryptanth (Cryptantha flava).

Cliffrose (Purshia mexicana), incredibly aromatic and sweet-smelling.

Anderson’s larkspur (Delphinium andersonii). Toxic!

The San Rafael Swell...

holds some of the best kept secret places in central Utah. Here are some images that were captured during a several day trip with friends this week.

Portion of the extraordinary Buckhorn Wash pictograph panel.

Stormy sunset view of the Little Grand Canyon of the San Rafael River from The Wedge Overlook.

The stunning petroglyphs of the Rochester Panel in the western part of the Swell.

The historic San Rafael “swinging bridge,” built during 1935-1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Temple Mountain, an important site for uranium mining during the last century.

Little Wild Horse Canyon.

Main Fork of Mill Creek Canyon...

contains a wonderful petroglyph panel, hidden right at the edge of Moab.

Rory and Ellen examining the so-called “Connection Panel” where all key icons are connected by a continuous thread.

Increased contrast in order to see detail on the panel.

The view south across Mill Creek, towards the La Sal Mountains, from the panel’s location.

As lovely as the gemstone...

after which it is named, one of my spring favorites joins me for morning coffee.

Adult male Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena).

Here are a couple of more shots captured later in the afternoon, under more favorable lighting. Quite the handsome fellow.

Exceptional aquifer recharge is occurring...

this spring in Castle Valley, Utah. Placer Creek is flowing all the way to its confluence with Castle Creek low in the valley, a once-a-decade occurrence, and in doing so is losing a large amount of its flow into the coarse, gravelly ground.

View upstream of Placer Creek and its distant headwaters in the Pinhook Valley, to the right (west) of Round Mountain.

View downstream of Placer Creek at the Buchanan Lane crossing.

Today's toxic topic...

involves this appropriately named - both common and scientific - poisonous beauty, now in full bloom in Castle Valley. In other words, don’t eat it.

Panicled death camas (Toxicoscordion paniculatum) among the blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima).