A Bee Resting on a Rose

As I walked down my back stairs, I saw a bee resting on a rose.

The rose is 'Poinsettia' raised by Frederick Huber Howard in 1938 in Southern California.

The bee seemed to be enjoying the afternoon sun.

He was rubbing his hind legs.

I also saw a small orange insect on Silphium perfoliatum the other morning.

Cistus x. hybrids, Rosa 'Flaming Peace' and Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' 

Mystery purple rose.

I found this book, Land of the Oaks, which is an old text book about Oakland's civic history.

It was checked out by a young girl named Janet Napolitano.