A Walk Through the Park

On Sunday, August 10, I took a leisurely walk through the park. Birds were flitting from the trees and shrubs on the north edge of the park (along the Arroyo Seco flood control channel) into the water. I saw a few lizards and some squirrels. I know there were lots more - I'm not a good animal watcher.

The plants in bloom included virgin's bower (Clematis ligusticifolia), buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), mulefat (Baccharis salsifolia), alkali dropseed (Sporobolus airoides), deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), a few poppies (Eschscholzia californica), and sugar bush (Rhus ovata).

Virgin's Bower (Clematis ligusticifolia) blooms at the Nature Park

Keeping up
I am very excited by what I see in the park. No, it is not perfect, but what we are trying to do is not easy. The basic structure of the park is good. For the next few years we will need to manage the invasive weeds. As these are better controlled I hope we will consider planting some low-growing shrubs in the central area (former grassland/weed patch). It would be nice to keep low-growing plants here because birds need low shrubs, along with trees and water. I hope we can plant wildflower seeds there again next winter, and possibly add some more buckwheat and sages. It will be best to go slowly so we can keep the invasive weeds under control.