The stream is a vital part of the Santa Monica Mountains. Birds and large mammals depend on water for survival. Many seek shelter in the shade to stay cool and hidden during the long hot days. After a winter of stored food such as acorns and seeds, one of the first fresh plants to appear in the spring is miners lettuce. Found growing in shady places, the bright green bowl of leaves cradles a bouquet of tiny pinkish-white flowers.
Miners lettuce grows abundantly at Stunt Ranch.
Along the stream you may be lucky enough to hear a tree frog. Every spring tree frogs return to Cold Creek to find a mate and lay their eggs. In these shady places, the soil often remains moist and we have an area where fungi and bacteria can do their job of decomposing dead plants and animals to return nutrients to the soil. If you visit Stunt Ranch in springtime after we ve had rain, you may see fungi that look like mushrooms growing in the rich soil under the oak trees. In the shade of the oak trees, a pocket gopher is busy digging an underground tunnel with his strong claws.