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Mushroom Madness 
Fungi can cure or kill, nourish life, and also decompose it back into soil. Fossil evidence for fungi is limited, but the ability to analyze molecular data has led to revelations about the evolution of this extraordinary family of...
Fool’s Gold: The Myth of Tiburcio Vasquez 
“And still of a winter’s night, they say,  when the wind is in the trees, When the moon is a ghostly galleon  tossed upon cloudy seas,    When the road is a ribbon of moonlight  over the purple moor,    A...
Billions in Flight: Migratory Birds 
Autumn doesn’t officially begin until the equinox on September 22, but all across North America birds are already on the wing—billions of them. Migration times and destinations vary based on the species and variables like weather and food sources—some...
One-Room Schoolhouse 
Back to school. A hundred years ago in Topanga, it would have been on foot—and often barefoot—to the little, red, one-room schoolhouse by the creek in the bend of the dirt road.  Public education in California was still relatively...
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Spring 

Spring is officially here, and so is the first anniversary of life in COVID-19 quarantine. Soap, toilet paper, flour, and yeast are back on store shelves. N-95 masks are not. We’ve grown accustomed to Zoom meetings that have expanded...
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Women’s Work 

March is Women’s History Month and we are starting our month-long celebration with a look at two books on the role of women in the American Revolution; a conversation with the herbalists at Wüm Essential Elements, Topanga’s new women-owned...
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Trail Hazards 

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area trail advocate and builder Milt McAully often hiked in shorts, but pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and sturdy shoes with thick socks are recommended for those of us mere mortals who are vulnerable to...
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Roots 

In a somber week when the U.S. passed 500,000 COVID-19 fatalities, there was good news on at least one coronavirus front: COVID-19 numbers continue to trend downward in Los Angeles County, with just 25 new cases per 100,000 people...