Similkameen Goldenrod

I spent an afternoon blissing out in the goldenrod growing around the irrigation ditches in Cawston, the organic farming capital of Canada.

There was one section that was obviously located near a nest of these bumblebees. The sisters were working the blossoms cheek by jowl.

There were a lot of garden escapees in the ditches like catnip and other mints. You can see how this catnip could quickly become invasive in warm, moist locations. At least it's great for bees.

I  stood by a field of ripe peaches and inhaled the jammy scent.

These stands of white knapweed were humming with honeybees. They were more popular to these bees than the goldenrod. This is good because it leaves more goldenrod for native insects, but bad because the honeybees will help the knapweed set seed and spread.

 Swamp verbena (Verbena hastata) is a species at risk in the Okanagan. Measures should be taken to protect these sites where it is grown.

I love finding cool wasps on the goldenrod. This one has a huge head. It's one of the cutest wasps I've seen. I think it's a square-headed crabonidae.