Thomas R. Webb, PhD
@thomasrwebb.bsky.social
I’m a scientist with a background in drug discovery, medicinal chemistry and an interest in botany, gardening and ecology. Based in Southern California.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thomas-Webb-3
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thomas-Webb-3
First Bacon avocado harvest in 3 years but it’s looking like a new crop record so far. These totaled just under a kilogram for the four. The giant Fuyu persimmon tree has great fruit and fall colors this year.
November 12, 2025 at 2:17 AM
First Bacon avocado harvest in 3 years but it’s looking like a new crop record so far. These totaled just under a kilogram for the four. The giant Fuyu persimmon tree has great fruit and fall colors this year.
November 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
🌱
180 plugs of native California plants from my mostly homegrown native seed collection. Menzies’ goldenbush, white sage (Salvia apiana), Epilobium canum, Astragalus trichopodus, Tritelia laxa, and some black sage rootings. The goldenbush has already germinated. I’m hoping to get enough to share!
180 plugs of native California plants from my mostly homegrown native seed collection. Menzies’ goldenbush, white sage (Salvia apiana), Epilobium canum, Astragalus trichopodus, Tritelia laxa, and some black sage rootings. The goldenbush has already germinated. I’m hoping to get enough to share!
October 27, 2025 at 9:09 PM
🌱
180 plugs of native California plants from my mostly homegrown native seed collection. Menzies’ goldenbush, white sage (Salvia apiana), Epilobium canum, Astragalus trichopodus, Tritelia laxa, and some black sage rootings. The goldenbush has already germinated. I’m hoping to get enough to share!
180 plugs of native California plants from my mostly homegrown native seed collection. Menzies’ goldenbush, white sage (Salvia apiana), Epilobium canum, Astragalus trichopodus, Tritelia laxa, and some black sage rootings. The goldenbush has already germinated. I’m hoping to get enough to share!
Beautiful! I think this one is a bougainvillea looper aka somber carpet moth (Disclisioprocta stellata).
October 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Beautiful! I think this one is a bougainvillea looper aka somber carpet moth (Disclisioprocta stellata).
Taken in Glacier National Park about 40 years ago. I usually photograph plants but I feel like I really got lucky with this one! The male mountain goat is giving me a look to move on (or else) the female was behind me while he stayed close to protect the kid.
October 2, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Taken in Glacier National Park about 40 years ago. I usually photograph plants but I feel like I really got lucky with this one! The male mountain goat is giving me a look to move on (or else) the female was behind me while he stayed close to protect the kid.
Good morning Avalon!
August 27, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Good morning Avalon!
Saw a belted kingfisher in distress at a restaurant in Avalon on Catalina Island. I googled wildlife rescue and was referred to John. In 15 min he was there with his truck. He said that he didn’t think there were any on Catalina, so this was an unusual situation. I hope everything will be ok!
August 27, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Saw a belted kingfisher in distress at a restaurant in Avalon on Catalina Island. I googled wildlife rescue and was referred to John. In 15 min he was there with his truck. He said that he didn’t think there were any on Catalina, so this was an unusual situation. I hope everything will be ok!
Spiders can be ornately beautiful! This is a banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata)
August 23, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Spiders can be ornately beautiful! This is a banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata)
Taken this AM: Coyotes have gotten brave in our area. I think that they’re moving into more suburban areas because the drought has limited food for their wild prey and so they are hunting near irrigated areas for rodents and small pets. Even my pal Zeus at 120 lbs gets intimidated when there’s 3!
August 23, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Taken this AM: Coyotes have gotten brave in our area. I think that they’re moving into more suburban areas because the drought has limited food for their wild prey and so they are hunting near irrigated areas for rodents and small pets. Even my pal Zeus at 120 lbs gets intimidated when there’s 3!
If Lex Luthor = the Felon, then I’m with Superman on this.
August 15, 2025 at 9:20 PM
If Lex Luthor = the Felon, then I’m with Superman on this.
Bambusa vulgaris 'Vittata' aka Painted Bamboo growing in my bamboo collection today.
August 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Bambusa vulgaris 'Vittata' aka Painted Bamboo growing in my bamboo collection today.
Your dog is gorgeous. Mutts and rescues are the best. I always have people asking me about the pedigree of my rescue (Zeus). I only have theories. Breeders normally cull off-standard pups. Breeding is an inhumane practice when so many dogs are being killed in kill shelters:(
July 26, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Your dog is gorgeous. Mutts and rescues are the best. I always have people asking me about the pedigree of my rescue (Zeus). I only have theories. Breeders normally cull off-standard pups. Breeding is an inhumane practice when so many dogs are being killed in kill shelters:(
Pointleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens) on the Hidden Bluff Trail yesterday in Encinitas. This is one of the most impressive mature specimens I’ve ever found.
July 22, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Pointleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens) on the Hidden Bluff Trail yesterday in Encinitas. This is one of the most impressive mature specimens I’ve ever found.
Lon melane, aka the umber skipper, seen today in my garden on native seaside daisy. The great thing about native plants is that they bring in and nourish native insect species that aren’t often seen! The larvae of this native butterfly feed on many different native plants and some non-native plants!
July 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Lon melane, aka the umber skipper, seen today in my garden on native seaside daisy. The great thing about native plants is that they bring in and nourish native insect species that aren’t often seen! The larvae of this native butterfly feed on many different native plants and some non-native plants!
It reminds me of an oocyte
July 18, 2025 at 7:19 PM
It reminds me of an oocyte
Anyone remember The Prisoner TV series? It reminds me of that a bit:)
July 15, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Anyone remember The Prisoner TV series? It reminds me of that a bit:)
Front page local news shows that they are primarily going after non-criminals here. That’s because they have quotas to meet. We are wasting tax dollars and destroying any trust in our government, just so the gop can put on a cruel reality show. 🤬
July 7, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Front page local news shows that they are primarily going after non-criminals here. That’s because they have quotas to meet. We are wasting tax dollars and destroying any trust in our government, just so the gop can put on a cruel reality show. 🤬
I’m also using natives for companion planting in my vegetable garden. Here’s a shot of native creeping red fescue as a green mulch next to my tomatoes. I’ve had a lot of success with native grasses in establishing native plants in my landscape. Organic mulch and compost has a very short half-life.
July 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I’m also using natives for companion planting in my vegetable garden. Here’s a shot of native creeping red fescue as a green mulch next to my tomatoes. I’ve had a lot of success with native grasses in establishing native plants in my landscape. Organic mulch and compost has a very short half-life.
The felon administration is now using the Social Security Administration to spread their political propaganda! Like much of what they do it strikes me as illegal. Am I right?
July 4, 2025 at 2:34 PM
The felon administration is now using the Social Security Administration to spread their political propaganda! Like much of what they do it strikes me as illegal. Am I right?
Thanks Diego Luna for the epic capture!
July 2, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Thanks Diego Luna for the epic capture!
It’s interesting to see them in action, as I was hiking up the hill a lonely female turkey followed me for awhile then got ahead of me and seemed to be displaying.
June 30, 2025 at 4:10 PM
It’s interesting to see them in action, as I was hiking up the hill a lonely female turkey followed me for awhile then got ahead of me and seemed to be displaying.
Not my best video but still interesting. This was taken about 10 years ago in the hills west of Mountain View, CA. Two male turkeys are interested in a female that’s situated between them. One of the males seems to be acting as a ‘wing man’ in a beautiful meadow of lupines and poppies.
June 30, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Not my best video but still interesting. This was taken about 10 years ago in the hills west of Mountain View, CA. Two male turkeys are interested in a female that’s situated between them. One of the males seems to be acting as a ‘wing man’ in a beautiful meadow of lupines and poppies.
Some shots from my walk on the Broken Hill trail in Torrey Pines Reserve yesterday. San Diego monkeyflowers with a Torrey Pine, Navarretia hamata (hooked pincushionplant), Dendromecon rigida (bush poppy), and a Weed’s mariposa lily with an unusual red stripe!
June 21, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Some shots from my walk on the Broken Hill trail in Torrey Pines Reserve yesterday. San Diego monkeyflowers with a Torrey Pine, Navarretia hamata (hooked pincushionplant), Dendromecon rigida (bush poppy), and a Weed’s mariposa lily with an unusual red stripe!
Eriogonum grande var. rubescens (Red Buckwheat) is native to the California Channel Islands and thrives in local landscapes as a beautiful drought tolerant plant that is attractive to native pollinators. It has a very long bloom time and is a really tough landscape plant.
June 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Eriogonum grande var. rubescens (Red Buckwheat) is native to the California Channel Islands and thrives in local landscapes as a beautiful drought tolerant plant that is attractive to native pollinators. It has a very long bloom time and is a really tough landscape plant.