March 2005

In mid afternoon of July 18th a fire broke out on the eastern edge of More Mesa.  Winds were potentially very dangerous. In fact, at first assessment, it appeared it might be difficult to contain the fire, which was spreading in a northwesterly direction.  However, within less than ten minutes, the Santa Barbara County Fire…

Bobcats On More Mesa Some of you may have seen the marvelous photos of Bobcats taken recently on the Douglas Preserve.  And, we are most pleased to report both evidence and a sighting a Bobcat on More Mesa as well; scat was reported on the west side and an animal was seen near Atascadero Creek…

Caves Are No More In several previous issues we discussed the dangerous erosion of the cliffs of the various sections of More Mesa. In October of 2014,  an incident where someone was hurt while in a cave on the western side of More Mesa precipitated a discussion of the geology of More Mesa’s cliffs. Specifically, we noted…

Another Christmas Present? A long and event-filled Christmas day had one more surprise in store for Santa Barbara. About 9 PM, rain, and a very short “tornado-like” event whirled through a small section of Santa Barbara from Hollister Avenue to the coast. Its terrific and noisy wind caused flickering lights and, in less than a…

Face It, It’s Been Bleak! You may have noticed that we have not been very prolific in the “Update” department. And although the word “bleak” still comes to mind all too often, I think there are definite glimmers of hope. Among all the big problems is the one facing California and many parts of the…

So far, we are aware of at least eight fledged chicks from the first broods of More Mesa’s kites. Since kites often have two clutches a year, this early count is an extremely heartening number. Last year, the total count, for the whole breeding period, for all four mated pairs, was ten. This early news…