More Mesa – Winter Rains
I took a walk this evening on More Mesa. I have not walked there very often this year, unlike most years when visits were more frequent. It is a handy, close area to visit, and a place today to enjoy the anticipation of the rain due tomorrow. More Mesa is one of the best places locally to view the interface between land, mountain and sea. In the winter it is green, with splendid sunsets made more colorful by rain clouds – a rarity in summer. In summer, More Mesa has a unique energy with flowering plants, butterflies, birds (many baby) and bright sunshine.
(More Mesa, looking toward Santa Ynez Mts – December 14, 2008)
I did not take my bird lens this time – just the 28-300mm lens. But, I did see a few interesting birds. Two white-tailed kites were seen in the more southern part of the usual central north-south swath of WTK territory – so possibly there will be nesting kites in central More Mesa this spring. I saw kestrels in two places, one along the eastern edge, and the other in the southwestern area. Perched in coyote brush close to the cliffs, was a loggerhead shrike. But the most surprising was a harrier, which flew over the beach area of More Mesa a number of times. It took me by complete surprise, as I was faced toward the ocean, to see a bird fly from my right over the cliffs and above the beach. I immediately recognized it from the white band on the tail. Do they normally hunt along the beach? There were many birds along the shore, especially sanderlings.
(More Mesa – December 14, 2008)
Located where it is, with the view it affords of the mountains and channel islands, and the abundant wildlife in an urban area, More Mesa is a very special place. I remember Rick Halsey, while attending a Jepson Herbarium course at Sedgwick in 2003, making the comment that after traveling over Chumash Highway (old name: San Marcos Pass) toward Santa Barbara, the largest patch of green, undeveloped land seen, is More Mesa. It is an area that also allows good distance walking along the many paths, with fresh air often cooled by marine fog. I hope it is preserved in perpetuity. A handbook about More Mesa is slated for publishing soon – for more details please see More Mesa link below.
(More Mesa, view toward UCSB – December 14, 2008)
Slideshow – click on link below to display slideshow.
Other links
Lynn,
What a wonderful reminder of how peaceful More Mesa can be. This is where I fell in love with nature when I was a kid. I’d leave the house Saturday morning with my butterfly net in hand and a collecting jar under my arm and head out to collect whatever I could find along the mesa’s grassy plain. I found marvelous things there – beetles, velvet ants, carpenter bees, and a multitude of butterflies. I’d eventually return home just before dusk, my parents never quite sure where I had wandered. I don’t think kids do that much anymore. Way too much structure. I still have the butterflies I collected there. My son now has a collection of his own. One of the greatest gifts parents can pass on to their children is the love of nature. Walking More Mesa with them just before the rain is a perfect way to start.
December 15th, 2008 | #
Thanks, Rick. Valerie really liked the essay and comment.
My son is grown up, and occasionally runs there amongst other places, when he is not busy with work, study and music. He also thinks it would be a good place to preserve.
December 15th, 2008 | #
I really like that last picture. I caught a glimpse of that same sunset in Summerland last night.
When I was a kid we had a natural space behind my house. I would collect swallowtail caterpillars and pollywogs and try, but never succeed, to catch the little mosquito larvae eating fish in the creek. I agree that most children these days do not experience enough unstructured time in nature, and even those of us who did experience it as a child end up living in a deficit in adulthood.
December 15th, 2008 | #
Yes, I agree with that Diane. Parts of my youth were unbelievable in that respect. However, in a different place and time, I found myself working away most of my free time, until 2002 when I decided not do that as much anymore (even though it is still not optimum).
December 15th, 2008 | #