It’s About Time

The equinox passing is reflected in shorter days. The rate of change itself changes. Change in day length is fastest at equinox and slowest at solstice. The day-to-day change at equinox is about 3 minutes a day but only 30 seconds a day at winter solstice.

At the end of September, seeds of incense cedar were scattered to the winds and now their cones are raining down. The cones of incense cedar decompose over winter and are gone by spring.

The cones of Douglas fir, however, remain on the trees long after seeds are shed and then rot slowly after they finally fall to the ground. In late summer many of them are cut down by squirrels and hidden under logs until recovered later for a meal.

The cone scales are chewed away to expose the tender, nutritious seeds. Squirrels leave piles of cone scales at the end of logs where they were munched. The cones of true firs disintegrate from top down. The scales and seeds fall separately, a few at a time.

Long dry spells have caused bigleaf maple leaves to dry and turn brown early. Bracken ferns are getting brown on the roadsides and will collapse after the first hard frost. The lady fern will likewise keel over with a frost. Mosquito ferns on Delta Ponds are turning deeper and deeper red as temperatures dip to freezing. Sword fern, deer fern and spleenwort are evergreen ferns. Spleenworts are not common, so finding one is special.

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!