Top 5 Favorite Posts from 2011

Well, friends, I feel happy: 2011 was a good year for sharing my posts.  I have always enjoyed writing, but this year I was able to get a lot more stories out there for you to enjoy.  It has been a fun process. I especially like hearing your feedback, your thoughts, and I love discovering like-minded friends.  My passion is about nature in balance, native plants & wildlife, and of course the Santa Monica Mountains where I live.

Now as the year comes to a close, I pause to reflect on the year's observations and take a look back on my readers' top 5 favorite posts. Enjoy! More to come in 2012!

1) On the First Day of Christmas


2) Wildlife Encounters in the Fog


3) Anna's Hummingbirds


4) Autumn Leaves


5) Observation in the Wildlife Garden

Note: I am thankful for the opportunity to bring more stories & wildlife observations to you through the Beautiful Wildlife Gardens website in 2012.  You can read more of my wildlife gardening posts at www.BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com every other Thursday~ Happy New Year, wildlife lovers.

On the First Day of Christmas, my Wildlife Garden Gave to Me..

                          Black Hooded Parakeet, Nandayus nenday,
                          Topanga Canyon, CA, Photo by Kathy Vilim

 A flash of green caught my eye, bright green!  Mourning doves rose up with a sudden clatter and flew off..  I had a visitor, two visitors in fact.  And they were not ordinary guests..

On the 1^st day of Christmas I received a wonderful surprise gift: 2 green parrots, a male and female, arrived on my deck railing!  They were so colorful, it was obvious they were not normal visitors.  No brown birds were these.  They even intimidated my cat when she came to investigate. Sociable and curious about me, the male was more assertive, while his partner slipped away .. continue reading..

Anna's Hummingbirds, the Hummingbirds of Winter

Manzanita, (Arctostaphylos_pungens) Photo Courtesy of Las Pilitas Nursery

“Why not stay on with us and be jolly?”  Ratty, Wind in the Willows

Ah, the late afternoon sun in the native garden, how it warms my face.  I wait for my friends, the hummingbirds.  I hear them clicking in the trees and know that they will be here soon.  Yellow leaves litter the ground.  It is that time of year when most birds have plans for a southern vacation.  Indeed, many of them have gone already.  And it is sad for us: we will miss them.  Why can’t they stay and see what fun we have right here?  Why must they go?

Luckily, my hummingbird friends are staying ALL winter. ... continue reading

In the News: Go Wild! Native Plant Sale

Join the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains (RCDSMM) at our annual Go Wild! Native Plant Sale, Saturday, December 10, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Thanks to Matilija Nursery for providing the majority of the plants, enlightened shoppers with a wise eye towards conserving water and restoring the environment, can browse and buy while out of doors.

Buyers can pre-order specific plants by sending a list of plants with numbers to: malibucreekwatershed@gmail.com, with the words “Go Wild Order” in the subject heading. Plants must be picked up by noon on the day of the event or they will be sold to other deserving persons.

The California Department of State Parks has provided space for the event at the Topanga Ranch Motel, 18711 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California 90265.

The RCDSMM thanks the California Native Plant Society, Malibu City and Green Garden Group for ongoing support and advice.

For more information: (818) 597-8627; rcdsmm.org.

(as reported in the Topanga Messenger)