Topanga is a Special Place

Topanga is a special place.  It is a respite from urban life.. but not just for people.  The Santa Monica Mountains are a place where animals and native plants can thrive in the ecosystem they were made for.  The mountains support an entire community that goes from basic organisms in the soil, to a variety of insects (some of which are 'specialists' that are attracted to only certain native plants), to birds, reptiles, bats, and larger animals like the Coyote.

                                   Cactus Wren Nest on Pear Cactus Leaf

This community is made more clearly special when you look at it from afar, when you step back, or even check out Satellite Images on Google.  There you will find the green of the Santa Monica Mountains surrounded by urban sprawl.

It is a delicate balance that maintains this community.  As development progresses, animals and plants are pushed back or erased altogether.  Fortunately, zoning ordinances have kept development to a minimum, and most of us that choose to live here know it is a special place.

People need a respite from urban life... not just a park filled with green turf and a few non-native trees.  People need to spend time in nature's communities.. to observe wildlife, to watch baby birds be born, to see what plants butterflies feed on.. We as humans are part of nature.  It is not us or them.  We are all one.  We don't even know how much we need the  natural world, until we spend time in it. Then we realize..

NowhereVille

I woke up this morning remembering the blue flowers of the prairie from my days as a young girl in the Midwest. I was just a free spirit with my hair hanging long.  How I hated to see the bulldozers come and uproot the meadow!  It made me cry.  They'd stop work and leave their gold-colored bulldozers sitting there in the middle of a field of devastation.  Trees, bushes, grasses in front of it.. dirt and more dirt behind.

They are busy making something where there is nothing.. from their point of view.  Making houses and sidewalks where there is nothing.. nothing but prairie that is.. prairies teaming with life! I looked on.. story continues..story continues ..