Plus, all fives of these common plants have a host of medicinal qualities. Here, our resident nurse and herb-nerd Julia explains some of their benefits. 

What herbs are you harvesting and steeping right now? Let us know in the comments.

Rose, Bud, Thorn is a nightly conversation game I learned as a summer camp counselor years ago. Surprisingly, it has become a big hit here in Commune Topanga quarantine. Every night Jeff and Schuyler’s daughters insist we play — maybe because they want to head off any talk of statistics and politics, but, I have come to suspect, because they crave the healing hidden in the game.

Here’s how it works: Each person shares their Rose, Bud, and Thorn for the day. The more specific the better.

Your Rose is something positive, an opportunity for us to collectively rejoice in your success or relive a happy moment. Recent examples of family Roses include:

• “Today we picked a bag of oranges on a neighborhood walk."

• “I got a good grade on my school essay."

• “How sweet it is that we sit down for dinner as a family every night these days."

Your Bud is either something that shows promise and/or something bittersweet. This how we know what you’re...

We have entered an era where the CDC is posting articles on how to make your own mask and videos with the U.S. Surgeon General in full dress uniform folding an extra t-shirt. Scientists are rigorously testing the filtration merits of vacuum cleaner bags vs. pillowcases.

In the early 1980s, my mother’s first job out of college was working for the local waste management facility promoting their new recycling program. I vividly remember her coming to my elementary school classroom to teach us the three R’s — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 

Unfortunately, time (and corporate propaganda) has obscured that the three R’s are actually a hierarchy. Reduce your waste, creatively reuse what’s left, and only...

Every night on the property you can hear two owls. One has a deep, slow hoot — a steam engine finally pulling into the station. The other is higher pitched, questioning. We’ve never seen them, but they have pet names anyway: Bert and Ernie.

That’s the preamble... 

Now the sun is setting and 9-year-old Micah runs into the kitchen shouting, “There’s a stuffed animal on the steps, but when you get near it moves!”

We troupe out into the garden and find this young friend:

A concerned call to the Ojai Raptor Center reveals:

1. She (or he) is a juvenile Great Horned Owl
2. It’s not uncommon to find juveniles on the ground. At this age they can climb trees but can’t fly.
3. We should clear the area and she’ll climb back up. And after about 30min that’s exactly what happens.

Bert and Ernie, all that time hooting… we now know what you were really doing! 

P.S. For those non Sesame Street folks out there

What feathered...