Eugene Weekly : It’s About Time : 6.4.09

By David Wagner

Elgaria coerulea, northern alligator lizard

June means Solstice! to people who track the seasons. We celebrate the day, the 20th this year, as has been done for as long as the human mind could share comprehension of the notion. The longest day of the year marks the beginning of summer. Did you ever wonder why Solstice didn’t mark the middle of summer? The hottest days always come later because it takes a long time for the oceans to warm up. Ocean temperature controls the temperature of the air that blows into town.

Licorice ferns have dried up on the tree trunks they make home. Like the mosses they grow with, they flourish in the rainy season and go dormant in the summer. Their spores probably won’t germinate until fall, but nobody knows for sure.

Gardeners know that even though Oregon is thought of as a rainy state, long dry spells are likely in the next months. Investing in a timer that sends daily water to your petunias and potatoes means taking long hikes in the mountains without worry. Remember, snakes and lizards are your garden friends. They eat what you would otherwise want to poison: slugs and bugs.

Seeing a doe in the meadow at Mt. Pisgah reminds me that fawns will be born soon. If you should happen across a fawn in the wild, just back away and leave it alone. It is just lying quietly waiting for Mommy to return for the next feeding, and Mommy won’t come back until you are gone.

David Wagner is a botanist who has worked in Eugene for more than 30 years. He teaches mosses and is president of the Eugene Natural History Society. He may be reached at fernzenmosses@me.com

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

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Thank you for standing with us!