Gray Hairstreak Butterfly

We rarely see a Gray Hairstreak Butterfly (Strymon melinus) in our area, so it was surprising when we saw this one in our garden.

They are tiny, but have a distinctive orange spot making them fairly easy to recognize. The California Native Plant Society has extensive information on their website on host plants for the Gray Hairstreak Butterfly and the Butterflies and Moths of North America website has maps and photos for identification. We have been planting the garden to attract butterflies and it seems to be paying off.

Photos by Tony Fitzgerald Photography

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According to the United Nations, “Our food systems right now are unsustainable. They are a major contributor to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution“. But, research done at U.C., Davis demonstrates that “soils could store enough carbon to offset a significant proportion of fossil fuel emissions”, and actually reverse climate change. This happens when farmers use ‘regenerative agriculture’ practices, which increase and keep organic matter in the soil. This blog features products that are grown this way, so you will know which brands will help reverse climate change.

While traveling the world and looking for the best quality ingredients, we found that many producers who care about quality also care about sustainability. When we used the best quality ingredients we also reduced our carbon footprint. Additionally, by buying regenerative products, we could actually help reverse climate change. So, this blog features some of those products. If everyone did this, more farmers would use ‘regenerative practices’ and it would have a big effect on climate change. Little changes add up to something big. Little things matter. We could save the world, one cookie at a time.