Eat ItDandelions and other nutritious wild plants...

Eat It

Dandelions and other nutritious wild plants are abundant on local hillsides and fields. But before nibbling, foragers should be sure the plants are edible. For a guide to palatable plants, see Valley Briefing (B2).

Paradise Lost

William MacGowan says his great-great-grandfather William Ellsworth Smythe settled Tujunga in 1913 because he thought the area’s mountainous backdrop made it a perfect setting for his utopian colony known as “Little Lands,” an outpost that embodied his back-to-nature philosophy. . . . Unfortunately, rocky soil, real estate developers and World War I ended Smythe’s dream. . . . MacGowan spoke to a group of history buffs at the Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga on Saturday afternoon as part of the museum’s 84th anniversary celebration.

Petal Power

Despite a modest poppy crop, attendance is still high at the sixth annual California Poppy Festival in Lancaster. . . . Nearly 22,000 visitors on Saturday took in the festival that features flowers from the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, arts and crafts, a photography contest and blues and jazz music. . . . The festival continues today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Lancaster City Park, 43011 N. 10th St. West. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for seniors 63 and older and children 6 to 11. For more information, call (805) 723-6085.

Pleasant Precinct

Toluca Lake is one of the more venerable and pricey neighborhoods in the Valley, with most houses more than 40 years old. Attracted by its stately ambience and proximity to film and television studios, residents tend to stay a long time (K1).