With the blessed arrival of some early season rains, it was just a matter of time before Bernal Hill began its annual transition from Brown Mode to Green Mode.
This morning, a proclamation from Neighbor Veronica made it official:
The Engreenening has begun!
Indeed! Neighbor Veronica also shared these photos of Bernal Hill’s verdant new peachfuzz to verify the transformation that’s now underway.
Hail the rains! Hail the green!
PHOTOS: Neighbor Veronica
Bernalwood 
Finally!
BRAVA!
I wish I had gotten a close-up! It’s so delicate and lovely, I tried my best to not even walk on it.
You’re onto something, Veronica. Delicate and lovely, yes!
That’s likely all growth of annual grasses (wild oat, rye, brome and barley), which have very little root structure in early development.
Notice the interstitial bare areas within the green you photographed. Those areas have gotten larger and larger, where we have all spread out from what use to be one main trail along the ridge east of the radio tower. If you look down among the tall annual grasses in the spring you’ll see bare soil throughout the season … or as long as we keep trampling every inch of the Hill — particularly if we continue to do so in stressful drought years.
Erosion is a huge player in the ecology of Bernal Hill, affecting our trails as well as the vegetation that supports our local wildlife. You’ll notice soil and rock in the streets as the Hill sheds topsoil because it lacks the fibrous root structures of well-developed grasses to hold that soil in place. You can see soil all over Bernal Heights Boulevard after that single rain event.
Definitely delicate and lovely, with emphasis on the delicate!