Why Collect Seeds Anyway? Last month we discussed the Coastal California Poppy and how the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) collects seeds of this native plant on More Mesa. However, in addition to poppies, More Mesa is a very valuable source in the collection of many other important native plants. These include…
Coastal California Poppy – Eschscholzia californica var. maritima 2016 I Madonnari street painting festival – Robert Bernstein – click on image for original. This past spring More Mesa provided an amazing wildflower show, especially given the severe drought we are experiencing. And when one thinks of wildflowers, one species in particular often comes to mind. It is the…
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…
Mother Nature Does Her Thing, Even with a Record Breaking Drought In spite of what is shaping up as yet another drought year, More Mesa is green and blooming. In one short walk we spotted Poppies, California Brittlebush, Blue-eyed Grass, Redmaids, Owl’s Clover and Miniature Lupine. Many of these were in profusion and all a…
El Niño Rains Haven’t Forgotten Us … They May Just Be Running Late If you are wondering what happened to the vaunted El Niño, weather experts have stated that periods of sunny and warm weather are typical even in strong El Niño winters and that there is “No need to be alarmed that El Niño…