Autumn Leaves Bring California Gold

Her First Autumn Leaf

                                                        As Autumn Leaves Fly

Early Autumn- The Fifth Season

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..

March: Mountain Lilacs in the Canyon

                                                Ceanothus oliganthus, by Kathy Vilim

What does my world look like today? Well, Topanga Canyon is very green.. St. Patty's Day Green, in fact.  Yet for much of the country, still dealing with the last snows, that is hard to embrace.  Besides the green grasses growing everywhere, there are Mountain Lilacs blooming (Ceanothus oliganthus), pale blue or white blooms that cover the hillsides, imparting an undulating softness.  I photograph them, hoping I do them justice.

A coyote barks into the night. There have been lots of them lately.  This morning I was delighted to see a deer in my back yard!  She jumped effortlessly over my picnic table on her way down the path from my house.  A rare sight when you are a few miles from Los Angeles.  I wanted to leave water out for her.. but wouldn't that be an ambush with coyotes in town?  It is hard to know sometimes how to help wildlife.  I decided to let nature decide that one.

A toad croaks.. crickets.. butterflies appear.. all sure signs of Spring! The Sycamore trees and the Walnut trees both putting out new fresh green soft leaves.. Even in Topanga where the Seasons pass with the blink of the eye, there are gentle signs of Spring.

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 ..