The Naked Truth
Pirates Cove in Malibu is small and isolated—a crescent of white sand surrounded by forbiddingly steep cliffs. It faces the open ocean. This storied stretch of coast is said to have been named not for the “avast ye me...
What’s Bugging You?
Synanthropic Insects Are at Home in Our Homes It has fifteen pairs of improbably long legs, faceted eyes that can see the ultraviolet spectrum, and it’s a voracious hunter, pouncing upon its prey with amazing speed and subduing it...
By Any Other Name
A new sign was recently installed by the side of Kanan Dume Road. It reads: “Sheila James Kuehl Nature Preserve at Ladyface Mountain.” It’s not the most imaginative or descriptive name for this rugged and beautiful mountainside, but this...
The Nature Observer
Suzanne Guldimann is the editor of the Topanga New Times, and also TNT’s resident naturalist. She was recently asked to give a talk on being a naturalist for the Topanga and Malibu Creek State Park docents. This article grew...
The Bear Truth
We have a new neighbor in the Santa Monica Mountains. On April 23, National Park Service biologists captured and radio-collared a 210-pound black bear in the western Santa Monica Mountains, south of the 101 Freeway. The bear, a young...
Butterflies: Mythic Beauty
Backyard Butterflies Fly, white butterflies, out to sea, Frail pale wings for the winds to try, Small white wings that we scarce can see Fly. Some fly light as a laugh of glee, Some fly soft as a low...
The Malibu Railway War
From the moment the first transcontinental railroad steamed across the county in 1869, the nation had train mania. In California, that mania reached a fevered pitch once transcontinental rail travel was a reality. The railroad had an unimaginable impact...
Golden Blooms
It’s a good year for the California poppy. The extended heavy rains came at just the right time for California’s state flower to flourish, and the golden blooms are popping up in some unexpected places. The fire-scarred Simi and...
Bunny Business
Rabbits are everywhere in the Santa Monica Mountains in spring: zigzagging across the road at dusk, sunning themselves in a peaceful patch of warmth in the garden, running and leaping in the elaborate rituals of rabbit courtship. Soon, the...
Hugh Lofting
Dr. Dolittle in Topanga Canyon
Books were a very important part of my childhood. TV had not been invented so we learned from books and listening to the radio. And from our elders. The first book that really made an impression was The Story...
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