Grass

With some chainsaws, bulldozers, and a budget, it's not all that difficult to root out the invasive non-native eucalyptus trees (see preceding post), but European grasses are another matter. They are relentless and, let's face it, here to stay. Outcroppings of serpentine keep them in check and allow native forbs and bunchgrasses to eke out a living here and there. Elsewhere, like Arastradero Preserve, the newcomers thrive– and who can deny their loveliness?

Bye bye "yuta-yippus"

That's how my son Aidan pronounced "eucalyptus" when he was very little. It has its place– in Australia!– but in the Bay Area it is an unwelcome invasive monoculture. Over the years, every time I hiked up the hill in lovely Wunderlich County Park and passed by the thick grove of these untidy trees, I would say to myself, I wish somebody would cut those damn things down... and lo, somebody did! May they in due time be replaced with the live oak, black oak, tanoak, madrone, and creekbed-dwelling redwood and bay laurel that populate these biodiverse foothills.