(Maybe I can get Anne to weigh in on just what these things are, because I have no idea on any of them except I’m pretty sure one of them is some kind of thistle, and the one with the bee butt in it is California poppy.)
Well, I was cat-sitting in Alameda last weekend, and I walked from the ferry to the house and back, because it was a nice walk so why not? A good chunk of the walk was along a fence, some of which had a retired military base on the other side of it, and also some rather nice wildflowers. I’m sure that I could say something profound and philosophical here, but it’s Sunday night and I’m tired and so how about “Oooh pretty flowers!” instead?
Edit: Added another picture of the first one, by popular demand.
The “tiny insects” are _Fumaria_, a fumitory. It’s in the Poppy Family, and a non-native. The “tiny peppers” are flowers of a vetch of some sort; Pea family.
You are right on the thistle (probably Russian thistle) and the California poppy. My guess on the purple one is that its in the Malvaceae family (Mallow/Hibiscus family); I’d love a different angle of it…
Added another, it’s the closest to another angle that I’ve got. Not MUCH different, but hey, I tried.