Urban Nature Pictures 3/28: Back of the Hill Urban Wilds

[urbpan]

Mullein rosette. I found it in the Back of the Hill Urban Wilds, continuing my Urban Wilds project.



The Back of the Hill Urban Wilds are not easy to find. They are named on Google Maps, and listed on the Urban Wilds page, but there is no signage, and the website links are broken. There is, however, this apartment building, and the trolley stop named after it. I could see on the map that the Urban Wilds was behind this building.


Here's how I accessed the land, up hill from this parking lot.


After some pretty strenuous climbing through weed overgrowth, this was my view: the back of apartment buildings on Mission Hill.


Up in the woods I found this weird little structure. Hunting platform? Homeless shelter? Very short treehouse?


At the top of the slope there was a lot of trash and even dumped construction material. This is the decorative top to a concrete column.


This beer can's design could help you determine the age of the features of the land.


I got to the top where there was a fence across the entire upper perimeter. I followed it until it ended and came across this very steep grassy slope. I took Charlie off-leash (actually I left the leash on but dropped it) so that we could get through the dense vegetation without getting tangled. Then he decided he liked the taste of the grass here. This is also where I found the mullein rosettes.

This Urban Wild will probably remain quite wild--I don't see it gaining popularity as a hiking trail. It's relatively small, incredibly steep, and would require a lot of work to "improve" it. I like that the city has chosen to preserve it, and leave it alone. Pity about the trash, but that happens in the city.

Next in the Urban Wilds series: the lands called "Boundary I" and "Boundary II." Mysterious.

Comments

[morgi.livejournal.com]

So that's what that giant fuzzy plant in our backyard is.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, undoubtedly it will be one of my "50 more urban species" but I'll wait til the end of summer, when the huge central spike with the yellow flowers comes up.

[buboniclou.livejournal.com]

I really like that apartment building. It's very tetris-y.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Cool place. I thought you'd been there before though, in college. That must have been another Mission Hill spot I'm remembering you talk about?

Also, I just rediscovered mullein, too! There was a cute little one in the mini-garden spot I use in the front yard here, and I didn't know what it was, but let it grow because it was so interesting. I was fascinated by the fact that it stayed pretty much the same all winter long. It's got quite the fur coat! I didn't find out what it was until a month or so ago, and was glad I saved it. I've moved it out of the veggie garden, so that it doesn't take up the precious organic soil in the raised bed, and so it can keep growing in the flower garden. I might even eat/drink some of it next week, if it seems appropriate.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that I had ever been there before; it's on the opposite part of the hill from where I used to live.

[weofodthignen]

What a curious little bit of rocky land :-) Probably gets used for some nefarious things at night that the people in those houses aren't happy about ...

I'm sorry to see that bit of cornice/column thrown away :-(

M