These days we’re more accustomed to the smell of the street or the babble of crowds than the creak of hilltop pines in the wind, the caress of seaweed on our ankles or the smell of wildfire on a breeze. A break to nature is refreshing and energizing, but our abilities to understand what’s around us has faded. Lace lichen drooping from a tree is a cherished sight when you live surrounded by concrete and asphalt, but we’ve lost a sense of what it can tell us — for example, the presence of lace lichen indicates low air pollution.
We’ve all been hiking and seen things that the immortal Lenny Pepperbottom would call “neat” — ladybugs clustering by the thousands, matted moss on the underside of a tree, birds playing in pairs — and thought “I wonder why they do that?” We ponder, exchange theories, maybe make a mental note to Google it later and move on.
BayArea.com recently went to Woodside’s Filoli Estate, the only intact country estate in Northern California and just fifteen minutes’ drive from Redwood City. The Ohlone people once lived in these hills, forming a trading post between populations who lived on the coast and by the ocean. The estate was built in 1915 by a mining millionaire and his wife, and includes a sprawling mansion, sumptuous formal gardens and several hundred acres of woodland. Successive families expanded the gardens during the next sixty years or so and eventually, in the 1970’s, turned the estate over to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Today, staff and some 1200 volunteers maintain the house and gardens, and guide visitors through its woodland trails, orchards, gardens and rooms in a variety of tours, hikes, exhibitions and classes. These programs allow visitors to not only enjoy the beauty of the grounds and surrounding wilderness, but to learn about the ecosystems and various groups of people that have lived here over time.
We tagged along on one of Filoli’s guided Saturday nature hikes with volunteer guide Cheryl Hilton, who took us across the rift valley of the San Andreas fault line and up into the steep foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. We passed through groves of redwoods and sequoias and crossed a one-lane track that happened to be the original Cañada Road — Filoli’s founder, William Bourn, had the road moved eastward when he bought the property. We followed Spring Creek as it babbled its way down a gully and crossed a field of long grass swaying in an afternoon breeze.
Hilton absolutely loves Filoli. For two hours she showered us with information, urging further research when she couldn’t fully answer questions and joyfully elucidating when she could. BayArea.com is happy to report that we learned the following things at Filoli:
- Gophers divide their holes into separate “rooms.” Much like our houses, each room has a specific use in gopher life, like sleeping, eating and going to the bathroom. For some reason this information makes us very happy.
- A jar of bay leaves will set you back a few dollars at the supermarket, but you can get them for free from California Bay Laurel tree. Their leaves work just as well as store-bought bay leaves (be aware: the native variety have a stronger flavor) and they contain the same active ingredient found in aspirin! Native Americans used to use them for pain relief.
- Grassy lawns were originally used to provide an uninterrupted line of sight for castle watchmen, but they developed into a status symbol for the English aristocracy. The idea is that if you have a lawn it shows you can afford to own land without having to grow crops on it. This is the mentality that lead to all those water-sucking lawns in our drought-stricken state.
- Despite their expansive gardens — and, yes, lawns — Filoli managed to bring their water consumption down by 37% last year.
- California newts live in a small dam in the foothills above Filoli. They’re maroon with an orange underbelly, they’re adorable and they’ll kill you if you try to eat one. However, if you don’t plan on eating them they’re absolutely harmless, and you can see loads when there’s water in the dam above Spring Creek.
- Native Americans used coffee berries as a laxative. “Mom, what’s a laxative?” was the response from one nine-year-old.
- When you’re not sure if an animal is a carnivore or an omnivore, you can use the following rhyme to help you: “Eyes on front, like to hunt. Eyes on side, like to hide.”
- Madrone trees — easily identifiable by their smooth, bright orange bark — are cool to the touch because the outside layer of bark transports water. If you’re getting hot during your hike, hug a madrone.
I could go on all day. And with so many individual volunteer guides, you’re sure to learn something new in successive visits.
“This place is always changing throughout the year,” said Hilton. “Everything’s totally different in the fall, or in winter. There’s always something new to see.”
On Wednesday, June 15 and Thursday, June 16 you can take this same nature hike, only at sunset, starting at 6 p.m., when the cooler temperatures bring out wildlife in the fading light. There are also guided walks through the orchard, the house and some of the most sumptuous gardens you’ll ever see, including a woodland garden, a kitchen garden, a stately formal garden and more.
And there are loads of classes and courses for those looking to flex that learning muscle and gain a skill or two. Among them are cooking classes (“French bistro cooking” has our name all over it), classes on urban beekeeping, on how to start your own veggie patch, cultivating and caring for citrus plants, photography classes, oil painting workshops and even classes on how to use your iPhone as an artistic medium. Art and sculpture exhibitions regularly adorn the house and gardens, and there’ll be jazz on Father’s Day. Check out the full schedule and register yourself here.
Entry at Filoli costs $20 (seniors $17, children $10) and covers the cost of the Saturday nature hike and the orchard walk (register for those here), but with the landscape ever-changing and the myriad of things to do, it might be worth your while to become a member. Membership gets you free entry and discounts on classes and other activities. A one-year membership will set you back $70 for a year, or $130 for two years. Become a member here.
We can all appreciate the sights, smells and textures of the natural landscapes around us, and Filoli is a place to take that appreciation to the next level. Here, you can learn to understand nature better and ultimately incorporate it more into your daily life.