Santa Ynez Sunsets

A visitor today asked if we had sunset views from Ridgeline Ranch. We sure do!

Ridgeline Ranch has almost 360 degree views. Looking to the north and east, we see the Sedgwick Reserve and Figueroa Mountain. Looking to the north and west, we see Grass Mountain and Zaca Mountain. Looking to the south, we see the Santa Ynez Mountains. Looking to the west we see incredible sunsets from this rare property. Here are a few to enjoy!

Santa Ynez Wildlife

Someone asked today about wildlife in the area of Ridgeline Ranch. The question came up in part because this rare property is adjacent to the Sedgwick Reserve. Our ranch's perimeter is fully fenced so we don't get as many visitors as we might otherwise.

Here are photos taken at a water tank in the Sedgwick Reserve by a motion activated camera.

The first shows three deer and a fox. The second shows a bobcat looking for a drink while being cautious about falling in.

In Woodstock Ranch we also see badgers waddling by the roadside at dusk and a multitude of groundsquirrels plus a number of arboreal squirrels. We hear coyotes call at night although I've never seen one as close as I did in Pasadena. Also, our noses sense the presence of skunks although my dogs quickly learned to give them a wide berth.

I've come to enjoy bird watching, too, since we moved here. My spring posts included photos of some of our avian visitors. Lately, I've seen lots of Western bluebirds and a surpring number of kestrels. See the handsome kestrel posing at the top of this entry.

It seems so fitting to be living in an environmentally "green" house as we witness nature's bounty.

Back in the Saddle Again in Santa Ynez

Woman on horseback, Katoomba, Kitch & Co.
Originally uploaded by Blue Mountains Library

Santa Ynez Valley certainly looks beautiful after spending weeks in Los Angeles with a sick relative. The tranquility of Ridgeline Ranch is more than welcome after the buzz of the city.

Of course, Ridgeline Ranch is especially peaceful because of its location adjacent to UCSB's Sedgwick Reserve. One of a handful of homes neighboring this 6,000 natural preserve, Ridgeline Ranch is a rare property with its seclusion and panoramic views.

Santa Ynez Stars

Santa Ynez offers breathtaking panoramic views of the stars and planets as I described last night. And it also has another kind of star: Shootingstar wildflower. They aren't ubiquitous like poppies or lupine so finding them is a treat.

One of the things I enjoy about hiking in Woodstock Ranch or the Sedgwick Reserve is the "treasure hunt" aspect. Hunt may be the wrong word because that implies a directed search. Maybe it's more like beachcombing. Nature has surprises tucked away on this rare property. It's somewhat like the Dr. Seuss book McElligott's Pool. "You never know what you'll catch in McElligott's Pool." That was one of my favorites as a child.

Franz and Anke and I went for a walk the other day on the flat, eastern portion of Ridgeline Ranch where it borders Sedgwick Reserve and found some Owl Clover. It's fairly easy to see how Shootingstars got their name, but I'm still pondering the derivation of Owl Clover. Clover yes, but Owl Clover for a pink, white and yellow blossom befuddles me.

Santa Ynez Flora - part two

Santa Ynez has such a wonderful variety of wildflowers I could fill a week of posts about them! Unfortunately, distracted by finishing my post yesterday morning, I forgot to bring my camera to the wildflower lecture/hike. So my promise of a photo of a mariposa lily is being fulfilled by an image from flickr.com.

However, Ridgeline Ranch has an incredible bounty of wildflowers itself. I think this is due, in equal parts, to its proximity to the Sedgwick Reserve, and to the large flat area on the eastern boundary of this rare property this is never subjected to cattle grazing . That area is protected from the road and the view of other Woodstock homes by the ridge on one side and Sedgwick's facing ridge on the other. Ultimate seclusion. A writer friend of mine lusts after the space as a retreat, wanting to build an office there so his creativy will blossom in the tranquility and serenity. Some have suggested that we use it for its vineyard potential but I'm glad we've let it stay wild.

Butterfly Mariposa Lily
Originally uploaded by NatureShutterbug

Back to blossoms, here are a just few of the flowers (in addition to the lupine and poppy I've already shown you) I found on my hike this morning on Ridgeline Ranch. I'm not adept enough at blogging to get more pictures in this post.


Top to bottom:


Filaree, an invasive non-native, imported as a high protein source for grazing cattle. Too much can cause a horse to founder.

Buttercup, a native

Blue Dick, a native. The bulb root of this plant was roasted by Chumash Indians and used as food.

Viola, a native. Also known as johnny jump up or yellow violet.

Santa Ynez Flora

Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria biflora) is a species of plant nativ
Originally uploaded by mikebaird

Santa Ynez has an amazing variety of flora and fauna. This morning we had a class on wildflowers for docents and docents in training at the Sedgwick Reserve.

It's easy to understand why Duke Sedgwick longed to buy this property for years. It was only after oil was discovered on his smaller parcel at Corral de Quati to the west was he able to afford what was then called Rancho La Laguna de San Francisco.

Duke was an artist - excelling as a sculptor - and a writer. He cherished the tranquility and seclusion the ranch afforded. He desired to leave the ranch which he described as a "large area of pristine beauty" to UCSB to "create a conjunction of land and learning."

With almost 6,000 acres, the Reserve itself has an incredible assortment of both flora and fauna. Unfortunately, as with much of California, even this rare property has been invaded by non-native plants. Some panoramic views include swaths of bright yellow which is mustard, a plant introduced by the Spanish as they explored Calfornia. Legend has it that the Spanish padres sprinkled mustard seed as they walked from one mission to the next so the flowers would reveal the route the following year.

However, the chocolate lily shown here is a true native. Its name comes from the color - not the scent as is the case with another lily. Other natives includes the Mariposa lily which is a lovely white with pink markings. I'll try to put up an image of that.

This is just a quick note. I'm off to dinner with my friend Doris Banchik, the best real estate agent in the Valley. She works for Sotheby's.

Santa Ynez Sedgwick Reserve

Santa Ynez is blessed to include Sedgwick Reserve. I've alluded to it several times and thought I should explain a bit more about it. It is regarded as the "crown jewel" of the University of California Natural Reserve System.

Here's why:

Encompassing 24 square kilometers (9.2 square miles) on the southern slopes of the San Rafael Mountains, the Sedgwick Reserve spans an elevational range of 500 meters (1,650 feet) and is noted for both its large size and environmental heterogeneity. The reserve contains two distinctive geologic formations: relatively young Paso Robles alluvium and much older Franciscan metamorphosed seafloor, including large areas of serpentine. Diverse vegetation types include coast live oak forest, blue oak woodland, valley oak savannah, buckbrush chaparral, coastal sage scrub, grassland, willow riparian forest, serpentine outcroppings, and agricultural lands. The site contains major portions of two watersheds and a variety of localized wetland habitats, notably vernal pools. The region has a rich Native American heritage, and at least one Middle Chumash habitation site (1,500 to 2,000 years old) rests on site. The reserve’s large size enables research of varying scales on native ecosystems.

Francis Minturn Sedgwick and his wife Alice DeForest Sedgwick purchased the land in 1952, using it to run cattle and as a family retreat. Because both were avid riders, the ranch included equestrian facilities. In 1997, it passed into the University of California Reserve System as a result of their bequest of the bulk of the land and a purchase of the remainder by the Santa Barbara Land Trust and other individuals. In connection with the funding, an agricultural easement was placed on several hundred acres which had both vineyard potential and potential for growing other crops. For those of you interested in genealogy, Francis and Alice Sedgwick were the parents of Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol's muse, and were also distant relatives of Kyra Sedgwick.

A recent benefactor of the Reserve is the Tipton Foundation whose gifts have led to solar power, improved roads and, most significantly, a meeting house built to the highest standards of energy conservation. It is a model for those who want to go "green."

Today scientific research is conducted on the Reserve as well as public education, aimed principally at elementary school children. The Reserve has an active corps of docents who lead public hikes once a month and act as teachers for the visiting students.

I've enjoyed my association with the Reserve as a docent tremendously. In fact, there is a class this morning in "Duke" Sedgwick's old art studio about local wildflowers. Gotta go learn more about the bright patches of color now appearing on my panoramic view.

Yellow-billed Magpie

Yellow-billed Magpie
Originally uploaded by amkhosla

Success! Here's a picture of magpies showing their beautiful plumage. The photographer noted the birds' "graphic" quality which seems just right. She wrote that, unfortunately, she had to travel two hours to see them.

We're lucky to have them right here in the Santa Ynez Valley - especially given that they favor Long Valley Road here in Woodstock Ranch.

Being visited by yellow-billed magpies is just one of the blessings of Ridgeline Ranch, a rare property with a panoramic view of Sedgwick Reserve.

Santa Ynez Tranquility

One of my favorite times of the day is morning when I sit on my patio with a mug of coffee. The panoramic view of the Sedgwick is so serene. I feel as if I'm on a retreat.

The deep silence is broken only by the call of birds. Until I left the buzz of the city and moved here, I could barely tell one bird from another. Now I know their names as well as their migratory patterns. The arrival of the red-breasted house sparrows and bright lesser goldfinch tell me Spring has arrived. The yellow-billed magpie stays with us all year because its habitat is quite limited. I must admit that with their raucous squawk and flashing black and white wings they are my favorite.

As I watch the house sparrows build their nests out of twigs and bits of lichen, I think how right it is that this house was built according to exacting green standards. It feels organic, like part of the surroundings on this rare parcel adjacent to the Sedgwick Reserve.

Although we had thought of taking advantage of the vineyard potential of the large flat area abutting the Sedgwick, I'm glad we didn't. I love walking down the old ranch road and picking wildflowers that blanket this parcel. There is a riot of yellow violets, lupine, poppies and more that I can't name.

It's hard to believe that this tranquil retreat is only ten minutes from Santa Ynez, 15 minutes from Solvang and 30 minutes from Santa Barbara.