It’s About Time – September 2014

September is a subtle month. Its changes creep up without being readily noticed. Daylength shortens most rapidly around the equinoctes. We come to realize that summer is over and fall is practically upon us. It is typically a sunny month, one of the best for hiking in the mountains. Nights can be quite chilly but the absence of mosquitoes makes watching the campfire a treat.

Crows hang around the walnut trees that droop over streets, waiting for passing cars to crack open fallen nuts. I’ve watched them compete with squirrels for these morsels. The squirrels are not as good as crows for this because the crows know how to drop nuts in the path of cars. Squirrels gnaw off the walnut’s bitter husk and bury hundreds.

Most of the native flowers have long since finished blooming but the leafy beggarticks (Bidens) reach peak bloom this month. It reflects their affinity for wet places that dry out at the end of the season. Its serrated leaflets are so similar to Cannabis it occasionally fools people into thinking they have found escaped marijuana.

An evening walk in an open woodland is not likely to be a quiet pastime this month. Insects like cicadas are calling out to find mates, sometimes almost deafening. Their abundance varies from year to year, with some species appearing only after intervals of many years. Some plants are sporadic in appearance, too. This is the first year since 2009 that the mosquito fern is turning ponds purple red.

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.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

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

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!