neonvincent

Scientists Map Underground Fungal Networks and Find They Cover 62 Quadrillion Miles

Some years ago, scientists dedicated to including the kingdom Fungi into modern conservation set out to measure the total length of fungal networks under the soil.

These networks form the fabled “wood wide web,” an interconnected, biological framework of cooperation between plants, fungi, and probably microorganisms.

Their research, published last July, found that just within the top 15 centimeters of soil, the fungal filaments stretched approximately 62 quadrillion miles long, and that if they were spun into a single yarn it would reach from the Earth to the Sun and back 1 billion times.


This is awesome. Fungi are awesome.

Here at Fieldhaven, I have many kinds. Some sprout after a rain. We've had lots of tiny scarlet elf cups over the last month or so. My mulch pile has various colors of filaments through it.

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Based on an audience poll and backchannel votes, these are the themes for the later half of 2026:


July 7 -- Don't add to the casualty list in an emergency.

August 4 -- Weirder Than That

September 2 -- Help That's Actually Helpful

October 6 -- Oh HELL no!

November 3 -- Intentional Community

December 1 -- No Such Thing as Ordinary

We survived the violent weather that swept through central Illinois on Wednesday evening. We are safe. The house and yard are intact. Our electricity was out for about 21 hours. The nearby town of Charleston has been declared a disaster area, but we picked up mail today and while there's visible damage -- trees down, roofs with holes -- it could've been a lot worse.  There were no fatalities reported so we're calling that a win.

However, we've incurred a bunch of extra expenses, including but not limited to:
* A lot of extra driving (with gasoline around $5/gallon)
* Out-of-pocket emergency one-day supply of essential medications
* A hotel room (1 bed, 2 people, 1 night)
* A bunch of meals out
* An extra dumpster

We will have more expenses in the immediate future:
* Replacing at least the minimum refrigerator contents, and more over time
* More extra driving
* More meals out
* Possibly restocking some cleaning supplies

Fortunately, we've been able to cover the expenses so far, but we were already on a tighter budget this month for other reasons. We're down several hundred dollars so far. We could really use some extra funds.

Therefore, I'm throwing a Storm Recovery Poetry Event. It's not a prompt call because I have extra work to do. It's not a sale because we need all the extra funds we can get. I'm just making some new and older stuff available outside the usual events and hoping someone else is more flush than we are right now. Browse options below...

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