Friends of Canyon Hills Open Space

We moved out of the neighborhood - so I haven't posted in forever. If anyone here would like to "take over" this CHOS FB page, I will try and figure out how to transfer it to you! Chaparral forever!

Yesterday - for the first time in nearly 15 years - we saw two camping tents near the top of Mt. Miramar in CHOS! We figured it wasn’t allowed, but understood the urge to sleep under the stars and watch fireworks. This morning it didn’t seem so cute but instead incredibly reckless. On our morning hike, we found a stone fire ring with charred firewood in it at the cleared out camp site. Anyone from around here would know the happened only last week, endangering all the plants and creatures in CHOS, as well as 1000s of people in the surrounding neighborhoods. On the off chance someone knows the reckless campers, point them to responsible resources like this one (https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/alerts-notices/?cid=fsbdev3_053601). We didn’t have any water with us, but we tried to make sure the embers were cold and smothered. Next time we’ll report camping activity to the Penasquitos ranger station (there is a number to call at the website - https://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/osp/lospenasquitos).

We found this interesting plant on the southwest side of the mountain. It’s a bladderpod (Peritoma arborea). iNaturalist says it blooms all year and that the pods are stinky to discourage insects eating it. We didn’t smell anything funky but keep a look out and decide for yourself!

To kick off the spring wildflower blooming season, I picked this tiny, delicate little flower seen in the middle of the trails right now. To bloom in highly trafficked areas, these are tough flowers! Turns out it’s a type of storks-bill - an introduced, not native, wildflower. Read more here: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70332545

Glad to see the CHOS cairn builders are at work again!

Common Stork's-Bill (Erodium cicutarium) common stork's-bill from Westview Pl, San Diego, CA, US on February 28, 2021 at 08:38 AM by Susan McAfee Baxter. Canyon Hills Open Space

Our winter rains haven’t been regular enough to guarantee a big wild flower bloom, but the chaparral is greening up (full disclosure: this CHOS photo is from May 2020). But, since most of us still need distractions as we continue to isolate due to COVID19, I’m hoping you will message us your wildflower photos from the mountain this spring at this page (we’ll post!). We saw white sage growing fast and yellow and white flowers beginning to bloom his morning. Bonus likes for identifying species!

It’s a bummer to Canyon Hills open space advocates to see that Mira Mesa Recreation Council still wants to develop CHOS into a resource park. Read a little bit here (no update on development plans here):

Parks Master Plan Could Derail Mira Mesa Park Projects | Mira Mesa Recreation Council Parks Master Plan Could Derail Mira Mesa Park Projects by Jeff Stevens | Jan 31, 2021 | News The Parks Master Plan that is part of the City’s Complete Communities program proposes to replace all community specific DIF and FBA fees with a Citywide DIF fee that could be spent anywhere in the City of...

We’re seeing more and more walkers, hikers, and runners on the mountain trails each morning. We are so fortunate to have this open space available to us during this epidemic. And did we mention the wildflowers are truly spectacular after our late rains?

Everyone deserves a park within a 10-minute walk of home. Is San Diego meeting that goal?

"This open-space area is a reminder why it is so important to continue to preserve open space islands in the urban sea. It provides a place for many of the key plant species in the coastal sage scrub habitat to thrive, and many bloom in spectacular fashion. With no proper trees to compete for space, the laurel sumacs have grown to the stature of trees in some places, and the lemonadeberry bushes add a lovely green to the mix." https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2019/jul/31/roam-enjoy-urban-landscape-canyon-hills-open-space/ #

Enjoy the urban landscape of Canyon Hills Open Space Loop Canyon Hills Open Space is a surprise and a contrast to the noise from nearby I-15, which is quite close indeed. This open-space area is a reminder why it is so important to continue to preserve open space islands in the urban sea. It provides a place for many of the key plant species in the coastal...

The views from the top of Mount Miramar are outstanding this week (maybe the best in several years?). The rains cleared the skies so that the ocean views carry out to the Coronado Islands beyond San Diego's downtown skyline (but not to Catalina). The mountains to the north and east are snow-covered and you can get glimpses of snowfields in the eastern valleys. A beautiful way to end 2019!

Just in time for the new year - a Kickstarter opportunity to receive an early release of the Beauty & the Beast book about California's wildflowers, superblooms, and wild, open spaces!

Beauty & the Beast: California Wildflowers & Climate Change We promise you a flower book like you’ve never seen before. It’s so beautiful you may need to buy a better coffee table.