It’s About Time

By July, gardens are burgeoning with flowers and vegetables. They will thrive through the summer only if we pay diligent attention to adequate watering. Digital hose timers are great for extended trips out of town. We also have to deal with combatting weeds and pests. I wrestle with use of poisons. Slug bait offends my organic sensibilities but it seems the only effective way to keep snails away from our hostas and lilies.

Is it really necessary to use strictly organic fertilizers? Lawn grass can’t tell the difference between one source of nitrate or another; fixed nitrogen is fixed nitrogen to a plant. What about the commercial fertilizer additives? Horse manure seems pretty noble at the end of these ruminations.

July is a squirrelly month for Willamette Valley urbanites. Can we trap and eliminate fox squirrels humanely? It is not legal to catch and release these arboreal rats to another neighborhood.

The harsh realities of nature show up if we keep eyes open when taking our neighborhood walks. A bushtit nest on the ground reveals predators at work. The little hatchlings don’t have a chance once discovered. Crows and jays don’t survive on bugs, nuts and berries. A dried and flattened garter snake shows roadkill isn’t just a country highway sight.

Escape to the mountains is always good for keeping mental balance with nature. Flower diversity is amazing in the forests and ridgetop meadows. Day hikes are best as high country camping is generally made intolerable by mosquitoes until late August.

David Wagner is a botanist who works in Eugene. He teaches moss classes, leads nature walks and makes nature calendars. Contact him directly 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.

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!