Snake Season

Posted
Filed under Reptiles, Snakes, Summer, Wildlife

We are thoroughly in snake season now, with rattlesnake sightings up dramatically this year. That news made me dismayed that I had yet to see a single one, despite being on the trail (and off) every day. All that changed today, when I saw two in one place (see photo). One appeared to be my old friend “Big Jo(e)”, which has a characteristic dark coloring and at least ten rattles. The other snake was new to me, with a distinct greenish hue and also a large number of rattles. It is the one coiled in the picture. I guess now I have to come up with another name!

The location where they were sighted was off the trail to the left when going up Holstein Hill trail, just prior to the wide wheelchair turnaround spot, also called “Coyote Point.” Since one snake subsequently slid into a crevice in the rock wall, it’s possible that there is a den there, so be extra careful in that area.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes open anywhere on these properties and stay safe out there!

Completely Determined. Thoroughly Implacable. Absolutely Relentless.

Posted
Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Stewardship, Summer

Before: Note the white fluffy seeds.

Doing invasive species removal work has its ups and downs. Not long ago, I was down. But the mood tends to pass, and I picked myself up and got back to work.

And when I did, it was with a renewed sense of purpose: I refuse to be defeated.

I even know exactly how that works: you must be absolutely relentless, completely determined, and thoroughly implacable.

After.

This year I even upped my game. In previous years, by now I had stopped pulling Italian thistle, as it was going to seed. I thought that pulling it would simply spread the seeds. But this year, when I kept pulling it, I realized a few things:

  • It’s possible to pull it without spreading seeds. This can be done a couple of ways: one is to push the head of the thistle into the bag before you pull it. Another is to grab the thistle at the head where the seeds are coming away, pull it out, and put it all in the bag.
  • A large number of plants went dry without yet releasing its seed. These are easy targets.
  • I’ve even begun picking up the seeds themselves. Not in all cases, but certainly at times (see the before and after photos).

I’ve learned some other things: 

  • I have more determination than I ever knew I had.
  • I can make a real difference.
  • Being absolutely relentless works — it just takes time. Thankfully, that I have.

I see you, thistle, and I’m coming for you.

New Trail Video

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Filed under Birds, Flowers, Fungi, Hiking, Insects, Mammals, Photography, Plant Life, Reptiles, Scenic Views, Seasons, Trees, Wildlife

Sonoma Overlook Trail & Montini Preserve from Roy Tennant on Vimeo.

Little Patches Everywhere

Posted
Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Plant Life, Stewardship

A little patch of thistle in a meadow.

Today was not a good day.

Nearly every day since mid-January, I have gotten out of bed, had breakfast, and headed out to either the Sonoma Overlook Trail or the Montini Preserve to pull Italian thistle. I did this even during shelter in place, as I had written permission to do trail and land maintenance activities. Today, since we had achieved our goal of pushing the thistle back away from all of the maintained trails on both properties, I decided it was time to see what the upper reaches of the Montini Preserve looked like. By “upper reaches” I specifically mean the area north of the Rattlesnake Cutoff and Valley View trails. I had already been north of Rattlesnake Cutoff, and had cleared those areas fairly well. So it was really the areas north of the Valley View trail that I wanted to explore.

So today I went off-trail up into the hills. At the very upper edge I came to a patch that I started pulling. At first it seemed rather small, but as I pulled it kept going and going until I realized I would have to come back to finish it. I moved on, following the fence line. I came to another small patch of maybe a couple-dozen plants, then walked another ten feet of so and found another. Then another. And another. I soon came to realize that the hillside was essentially covered with it, but in small, lightly covered patches.

As I came back down the hill a different way than I had gone up, I began to realize the extent of the problem. Although trails (animal as well as human) are one vector of spreading, these infestations proved that it spreads in a lot of ways. Basically every way imaginable. I began to understand that to truly rid the property of this scourge it will take walking almost the entire property multiple times in a season. I really started to finally see what we are up against, and it isn’t pretty.

I have good days and bad days. When I’m discouraged I have a custom of asking myself this question: “Did I make a difference today?” The answer has always been “Yes.” Until today. Today the answer was “I don’t know.”

Slight Loosening of Park Restrictions

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Filed under Hiking

The Sonoma County Health Officer is loosening park restrictions as of Wednesday, May 13, according to this new order. The key takeaway is that you can now drive to local parks, bathrooms may once again be open if the park you are visiting has such. You must continue the practices of social distancing and facial coverings when they are appropriate (for example, when coming close to others such as in parking areas or passing on the trails). Of course, if you have any symptoms of CoViD-19 you should stay home (these are listed in the order, see the link above).

Also, “If the potential Park visitor has had direct contact with a COVID-19 positive individual(s) in the past 14 days that person shall not enter a Park, and should contact their primary health care physician for further instructions.”

Please be smart out there, or else:

“In the event of crowding, widespread non-compliance with the limitations of this Order, or other evidence of activities presenting an unacceptable risk of spread of COVID-19 through Park use, any or all Parks may be closed again in their entirety or on a case-by-case-basis by the Health Officer, or by the individual Park owner, including but not limited to County Parks as determined by the Director of Regional Parks, as needed.”

Many of us deeply value our access to open areas. We’re trusting each other to do the right things.