Outdoors: Page 29

Hashing for Hops

I drank beer and ran several miles with a bunch of hooligans

Outdoors

Convening in the parking lot of an unspecified hardware store, passing around “vessels” filled with delicious beer and cracking sexually explicit jokes at any given moment, the Eugene Hash House Harriers will really throw you for a loop if you’re unfamiliar with the tradition (or if you can’t take a joke). The “hounds” do their best to follow the madcap path laid by the “hare,” and once they reach the end, it’s time for more fraternizing.  Continue reading →

Kickin’ Balls

Adult league sports

Outdoors

Akickball outfielder hits the turf at Tugman Park in South Eugene. Play is halted while she’s carried to the sideline. Is it a twisted ankle — or worse? “Need some ice?” teammates ask. “Get her a beer — STAT!” responds a teammate helping her from the field. She ices down the calf cramp with a cold one, cracks it open and is soon sitting with her friends, laughing in the shade. Continue reading →

A Win for the Bees?

Europe takes action while U.S. bees take a hit

Gardening

On April 28, the European Commission (the governing body of the European Union) voted to impose a two-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides on food crops attractive to bees and other pollinators. Neonicotinoids, now the most widely used pesticide class in the world, are suspected of contributing to colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honey bees, and their use is already restricted in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia. Continue reading →

It’s About Time – May 2013

About Time

This truly is Wildflower Month, as the majority of our valley native plants achieve their peak of bloom in May. The blue camas is at its peak early in May. People driving  south should keep an eye out for the ivory colored camas that is found along the freeway from Sutherlin to Riddle. Its ivory petal color is different from the pure white of albino forms of the related blue species. Continue reading →

A Day in the Menagerie

Trout Creek to Rooster Rock

Outdoors

The Menagerie Wilderness is relatively unknown to those who aren’t rock climbers or from nearby, and the Trout Creek Trail showcases a good taste of what the Menagerie Wilderness outside of Sweet Home has to offer. This area was protected primarily because of the plentiful rock pinnacles, which are favorites of climbers and threatened birds. Even if you aren’t a rock climber, the unique forest that blankets the area is reason enough to visit. Towering Douglas fir, western hemlock, Western redcedar and Pacific madrone all surround the trail. Continue reading →

Why New Trees Fail

Tangled roots and other fatal hazards

Gardening

It’s annoying when a newly planted shrub or perennial dies on you, but unless it was a gift or it’s rare and hard to replace, it isn’t all that serious. Trees are another matter. Young trees can be expensive, and it takes quite a bit of effort to plant one. Most importantly, if the failing tree takes several years to die, there’s precious time lost in achieving the purpose for which you planted it, whether for fruit, shade, a focal point, screening or just a nice, imposing plant companion.  Continue reading →

It’s About Time – April 2013

About Time

April is the month we’ll be saying goodbye to most of the wintering waterfowl. I am going to miss the buffleheads. The resident early birds have already started nesting while many migrants are just arriving. They will be checking to see if the old nest is suitable for refurbishing for another season. If it is, they will soon start singing songs of domestic joy. The bushtit flocks don’t break up while nesting and feeding young. They do forage by themselves now, unaccompanied by their usual winter companions, juncoes and chickadees. Continue reading →

Who Got Game?

Why so few African-American hunters?

Outdoors

I recently took a short drive north to interview Donny Adair, president of the Afro-American Hunting Association. Adair is a Pacific Northwest outdoorsman who’s hunted everything from burly southern whitetail deer to the wild turkeys of Eugene. The former UO student and current Portland resident had a lot to say about his mission to promote hunting and outdoor pastimes among the African-American community. Continue reading →