A Talk by Jeannine Koshear

Learning to really inhabit a place requires listening to and participating in its rhythms. One of the greatest pleasures of living here in YLP is exploring our own backyards, and carefully observing what is going on with the flora and fauna—there are always surprises to discover! “To everything there is a season”, and so it is in YLP.  Our seasons are a little different from the prescribed “spring, summer” etc., that we count by the calendar, and might better go by other names. “Fall awakening” comes when the first soaking rains of the season wakes up our dormant annual seeds and perennial roots, to start their growth, even as the leaves are falling off of our deciduous oaks and other trees and they are beginning their winter rest. The flush of growth that is (hopefully) nourished by winter rains has an orderly progression that differs from year to year, sped up or slowed down by both temperature and rain. Sometimes we catapult suddenly into withering summer temperatures, producing an early brown-up (and a rush to our favorite swimming hole or lakeside retreat.) “Weed-whacking season” follows, and then our long Mediterranean summer, along with the dreaded “fire season”. We’ll travel through the months looking at the native plants that flourish in their given season, and learn how to better encourage them to thrive!

Jeannine seen here with Ellie, her trusted assistant.  For more on Jeannine's background, click here.