The Mission - Introducing "THE HILL"

So what are we doing?  What is the mission? 

INTRODUCING THE HILL.  Say “Hello Hill” – “Hello Hill”

Lets take a look.....  or a few looks...

Looking West

Looking East

Looking down

Looking at what appears to be a very popular Snail Condominium-
Hey, can I collect some rent to buy mulch?

And last but not least, Looking at my friend the gopher.
We meet yet again- remember that rose that was my birthday present?

The hill is located in Coastal San Diego County California and it is an ecological catastrophe.  It is teeming with invasive plants, snails, and gophers, but there may be some good stuff there too.  If anyone was interested in seeing how to manage a weed and annoying pest protection area my hill would be the ideal case study.  That isn’t quite the destination I have in mind, so instead I am nurturing this hill back to the glory of San Diego County natives.  The hill is right where coastal sage scrub gives way to chaparral, so it has potential. 

Just to be clear from the beginning, this isn’t a 30-day project, or a summer project, or a year project.  The house associated with the hill was built in 1977 and if the hill was free of invasive plants and the San Diego natives are taking hold by the house’s 50^th birthday, I would feel on track.  Slow and steady.  The growing season is long in San Diego, but the effective planting seasons are not.

I also want to talk about “the rules.”  There is always this unspoken pressure to place rules and restrictions on ourselves so it is a “challenge.”  NO CARBS FOR 30 DAYS!!  REMOVE ALL THESE INGREDIENTS!!  RID YOUR LIFE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR A WEEK!!  ONLY WEAR THESE CHOSEN CLOTHES…  Whatever… There are many challenges out there.  I have done them.  I actually have done them on more than one occasion. Why not place some rules here?  ONLY NATIVES!!  Nothing else!! NOT ONE “WEED”!!!  I DO NOT want to make this blog into that.  Why?  Because that isn’t so much helping something grow and develop into what it is meant to be…

I look at this whole effort as part of an enlightenment process.  This whole project is more about doing my small part.  Giving back to the natural world I love so much.  I hope to put more natives out there, more interest in natives out there.  Give the natives a foothold to take back more of the Hill and San Diego County.