|

August 2016

A Tiny Bright Light

In a world dominated by talk of drought, we offer a tiny bright spot … about a lovely native plant; Seacliff Buckwheat. While almost all of our More Mesa native wildflowers bloom in spring, this cliff and dune dwelling plant flowers in the middle of summer, providing nectar to many butterflies and insects. We are happy to report that it has bloomed again this summer; the fifth year of our worst-ever drought and thereby proving that it is truly a “drought resistant” species.

303677529_aa4ba6e342_o

303677522_7c910767d6_o
And a Gentle Reminder …

While the drought is extremely distressing for human populations, it is a matter of life or death for wildlife. With little water and dwindling food supplies, animals are emboldened to enter urban spaces in search of food. Because this appears to be happening in our area, we urge you to protect and shelter your pets; especially at night. We also urge you to NEVER feed wild creatures; either directly, or by inadvertently leaving pet food where they can access it. Providing food to wildlife acclimates animals to humans and will eventually result in their demise.

Similar Posts

  • | | |

    September 2011

    Stories of More Mesa Last month we shared one of our “Stories of More Mesa”; stories that tell the world what More Mesa means to the people who cherish it.  This month we present a second story, a different story, but the same theme. (If you, too, have a story you would like to share,…

  • |

    April 2011

    Water, water everywhere The word for this month is WATER!  Here in Santa Barbara, we are currently at 167% of our average rainfall for the “Water Year” 2011.  Indeed 9.62 inches of the 27 inches of rain has fallen in February and March.  What this means for More Mesa is that the vernal pool on…

  • May 2012

    A New Treasure This month, MMPC celebrates its twelfth anniversary. Often, in the course of those twelve years, we have made reference to the many “treasures” on More Mesa – birds, animals, plants, habitats, views etc. And now, just in time to celebrate our anniversary, we are delighted to report that yet another treasure has…

  • May 2016

    Another Chapter in our “Cautionary Tales” Book:  It seems as though we have been relaying cautionary tales quite frequently. Exactly a year ago, and even more recently, we warned of the unstable nature of More Mesa’s cliffs and the heavy erosion that takes place, not only after rain, but even in dry weather. There is…

  • July 2015

    An irritating reminder … Yet another manifestation of the drought concerns poison oak; harbinger of itchy rashes. If you have been out on More Mesa you may have noticed that our abundant poison oak populations have come up in profusion this year, and in spite of little water. And you may also be aware that poison oak being…

  • | |

    Living with the Lockdown – Treasure Hunt #11

    Prologue Today’s Treasure Hunt is about snakes. Unhappily, snakes have a really bad reputation. To start with, the word “snake” is firmly embedded in our language and used by millions of people who have never even seen a snake! We call someone who is treacherous or worthless a snake, and when an individual is untrustworthy,…