I live on the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, a range which parallels a portion of the Los Angeles Pacific coastline.
It is a beautiful range which, from its peaks, offers spectacular 360 degree views, incorporating the ocean, islands,and valleys rich with farmland and suburban as well as city views. Pretty incredible when you can leave your house and within an hour, be enjoying a picturesque view of the ocean and the snow-capped mountains at the same time.
The point is not to make my readers jealous (although I do like to brag about this landscape!) but to explain the meaning of this one particular mountain- one I like to call my mountain. No, I can’t lay exclusive claim to it, nor do I want to. If I could, I would share it with everyone because there is something incredibly special about it. In fact, it was one of the biggest selling points for us moving to the neighborhood we can hold its gaze right outside our front door.
Mt Boney is the right amount of rugged and soft. Its craggy rock face captures pink undertones during sunset. At daybreak, its green manzanita landscape creates a quiet, inviting hush.
The animal life is present at all hours. We have coyotes we can hear (and often see) during their mealitime at dusk and my mountain has deer, red-tail hawks, bunnies and rattlers which always make a trip up the hill never quite the same. Isn’t that one of the greatest things about hiking anyways? The landscape is alway changing.
Right now we have wildflowers jutting out on hillsides and the grass- man! The vivid contrast between that bright green and the blue sky, well that is worthy of a blog in itself!
My mountain is hearty. It took a beating with a brush fire 4 years ago and came out charred but undefeated. My mountain is spiritual. It provides me with perspective when things are feeling out of sort. My mountain is a playground and its beauty is shared with many of our residents through mountain biking, hiking and camping. My mountain is awesome and I love that its presence brightens my day, every day.
Abundance 