Holding the hill

Native plants, holding our hill in place.

We've had about 5 inches of rain since the new year, and it definitely shows on most of the hillsides.  All over, there are native grasses, mustard and lupines, along with about 10 other species I can't yet identify.  

Lupines and other flowers amid the raspberry vines.

When the rain comes there are always certain places in California where mudslides are a possibility, but we have chosen to let our hillside remain in its native state, with no plowing down or discing going on. I believe it not only helps the native insects, reptiles and bees in the area, but also the topsoil.  Which can only be good, for us as well as all the other creatures we share the land with.  

Natural beauty with a purpose.

We will whack some of this down once it's gone to seed and turned brown, but for now we're enjoying the green grasses and flowers dotting the hillsides.

Our state bird!

The California Quail.  We see them a lot in the yard, along with roadrunners.  And they love running in between the rows of the vineyards at work, popping in and out of our line of sight and delighting our customers with their scurrying antics.  But of course I love seeing them at home more, because there I can just relax and enjoy watching them for as long as they want to hang out in the yard.

Cute, huh!