Save the Chaparral! - Comments

Layne Westover: More insects in the chaparral

nospam@example.com (Layne Westover) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:44:51 -0400

On the question,"Is this and ant lion?" the answer is "No, it is a snake fly." Ant lion is Neuroptera and snake fly is Raphidioptera.

arvind: Baby Elue Eyes - Nemophila menziesii

nospam@example.com (arvind) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:55:54 -0400

Got it. The sharp pointy maroon colored things are filaree seeds!

arvind: Baby Elue Eyes - Nemophila menziesii

nospam@example.com (arvind) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:27:10 -0400

I don't see any filaree in the photo. Those divided leaves belong to the baby blue eyes.

Cindy: Wee umbrellas

nospam@example.com (Cindy) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:28:14 -0400

I believe those are fruiting bodies of a liverwort.

Connie Beck: Some larger plants from my little photo expedition yesterday.

nospam@example.com (Connie Beck) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 22:10:05 -0500

Brian,
I love the wood rats too. Did you know that in England the archaeologists study their nests because wood rats can keep the same nest going for 200 years. The archaeologists find spoons, buttons, coins, all sorts of goodies!
We trap roof rats in a Havahart trap (from my neighbor's overgrown property) but sometimes we get a wood rat and my husband knows he has to release them alive!

Cindy Burrascano: Regrowth

nospam@example.com (Cindy Burrascano) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 20:51:34 -0500

I too was out this weekend with one of the people who sprays the Lepidium to check on a patch around Lake Hodges. The fire stimulated Lepidium plants such that they are going for a bloom this winter and it will be bad if they put down seed.

On some of the slopes with more native habitat we saw scads of Blue dicks up. We heard 3-4 pairs of gnatcatchers although for a change we actually saw more birds than we heard. Sometimes we waited for vocalizations to make sure the birds hadn't just flown to a new location. There were still some sizable cactus patches but I can only conclude that Cactus wren got hit badly by these fires. We did see tons of raptors.

Ferns were starting to emerge and these next rains should help. Willows were putting out some green growth on limbs. It was interesting to note that in the restoration sites which had been treated for weeds, the fire didn't move through.

Brian: Phacelia campanularia

nospam@example.com (Brian) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:33:49 -0400

Hi Beth,
This plant was growing on on a NW facing slope on the hills above Lake Hodges. If you have GoogleEarth, you can click the attachment and it will take you to the location. (If you don't have it, it's worth getting, and it's free.)
According to Google Earth the altitude is about 650 feet. If I recall correctly, it was growing at the base of a large Laurel Sumac which had partially fallen and sprawled.
In the winter/spring of 2005/2006 we planted a "wildflower mix" which we purchased from Las Pilitas Nursery. We planted a lot of seeds and didn't see very many plants resulting from them that spring. This last spring we saw two of these phacelia campanularia. We think they probably were in the mix. The area where we planted them was above our house. That's about 350 feet south of where I found the plant on my blog. There is an arroyo between the two locations, so the seed could not have traveled by gravity. The wind does not blow in that direction (I don't think I've ever seen it do so) so the seed was probably not blown there by the wind. It is possible that the seed was eaten by a bird and passed through it's gut undigested, to be deposited where it grew. I do not know if the phacelia campanularia seeds will survive that or not. It is also possible that the seed was picked up in the fur around the feet of a coyote and dropped where it grew.
So I guess you'll have to decide whether you consider this "natural" or not. We didn't plant it there and I can guarantee you that nobody else did, either. The seed found its way to that exact location by some natural means - possibly from a natural source and possibly from an artificially planted source.
If I can answer any other questions, please let me know.

Beth: Phacelia campanularia

nospam@example.com (Beth) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:38:13 -0400

Hi Brian - I am trying to find evidence that the desert blue bell NATURALLY grows closer to the coast than many people think. Where is the general area this was found?

Janet Shelton: Silence of the birds

nospam@example.com (Janet Shelton) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:25:55 -0400

When I moved to Escondido in 1988, I saw hundreds of swallows every day in the summer. They were madly eating insects. I left in 1994 and since I returned in 2003, I have seen only two swallows. No doubt, many species are declining or crashing.

Brian M Godfrey: Backyard habitat

nospam@example.com (Brian M Godfrey) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:08:04 -0400

I'm not sure the Washington ordinance carries any protection with it. I think a California ordinance should carry protection. I mentioned protection against forced clearing, but it should also carry a liability protection so the landowner is not held liable if his brush catches fire. That's probably the most important protection, but also the most controversial. In arguing for it, we must always keep in mind that most fires are not started naturally, but rather are human-caused and not the landowner's fault whatever kind of vegetation is present.

Brian M Godfrey: Backyard habitat

nospam@example.com (Brian M Godfrey) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:00:31 -0400

Hi Kay,
Yes, by all means, post it on the list server. Thank you!

--Brian

Kay Stewart: Backyard habitat

nospam@example.com (Kay Stewart) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:48:32 -0400

Please could I post this on the CNPS list server? This is a great idea, to have a model ordinance from WA state that could be applied to California. Maybe some local State senator or assembly member, e.g., Christine Kehoe, might be approached with this idea.

Cindy Burrascano: Maybe it will work now

nospam@example.com (Cindy Burrascano) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:49:32 -0400

So is it a Blue flax? I hope this works for you. I will let you know if it bounced back.

Cindy

Janet Shelton: More plant ID help please!

nospam@example.com (Janet Shelton) — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:46:56 -0400

It is Pearly Everlasting.

Janet K. Shelton: First posting - what we're about.

nospam@example.com (Janet K. Shelton) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 21:56:27 -0400

Here's what I learned when I got an abatement letter. The first thing you should do is to see who it is from. If the letter is issued by a contractor, you must realize that contractors have no incentive to give you must cut everything to the ground. Be sure to get any instructions from the contractor in writing. Document your requests by sending them in email or by fax.

Also get information directly from the fire district or fire marshal. Appeal the abatement and get an onsite inspection to review what is really required.

Regulations vary in different fire districts. What is required is often that chaparral be thinned in the first 100 feet from any structure. While you may be told to remove all native plants within 30 feet, the reality is that as long as the dead wood is removed and they are watered, they can usually stay.

The next 70 feet requires thinning, with the thinning decreasing as you get farther from structures. Shrubs such as Laurel Sumac should have the lower branches trimmed. This reduces fuel, while keeping weeds from growing.

You will also be required to thin chaparral that is close to a road.

Keep in mind that it may sound easier and safer to cut everything down. In reality, you will usually convert your property to a huge weed patch, which is a worse fire hazard than properly thinned chaparral.

If you are on a slope, you are likely to get erosion, which could lead to a
slide. Chaparral captures all the water that falls, but a weedy slope
causes rapid run off that quickly cuts deep channels, as well as carrying away soil.

Chaparral brings you beautiful birds and butterflies. It doesn't require
watering, weeding and other care. It is our native landscape, and for many
of it, seeing it on the slopes around us what part of what caused us to find San Diego attractive.