It’s About Time – October 2015

Well, the summer has slipped past the equinox without much fanfare, as usual. All we need is for the rainy season to begin and fall will be here. When the bigleaf maple loses its leaves, the licorice ferns uncurl on its branches. Or, as they say in Alaska, “when the fireweed goes to cotton, the summer’s soon forgotten.” Continue reading 

Catching Up

Summer’s astrally over, and autumn’s cosmically begun. Grand times for grand wines, good time for Mole and me to issue apologies, make course corrections, loop into big red wines, all that change-of-season kinda thing. Continue reading 

Rolling It out

Recreational users can buy pot at medical dispensaries starting Oct. 1, and other updates

Free joints, lines around the block, medical marijuana express lanes — the first day of October will surely be a day of celebration for many and, perhaps, a headache for others.  Oct. 1 marks another milestone for cannabis legalization in the state of Oregon: Medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to legally sell limited amounts of pot to recreational users — customers without an Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) card — who are over the age of 21 with valid proof of age. Continue reading 

Gardening in a New Era

This summer really got me thinking. Should summers like that of 2015 become frequent, just how much yard am I interested in watering? I let some areas go dry this year, out of sheer exhaustion combined with a sense that it’s inappropriate, with all of Oregon in a state of drought, to have sprinklers going all the time. Some areas I placed on a regular but restricted water regimen. It has been interesting to see what survived and what did best. Continue reading 

I Dream Corvallis

On the romantic illusions of road tripping

Having lived here going on eight years now, Eugene has become like family for me: I love it, but sometimes I don’t like it very much. For all the ballyhooed benefits of its artsy liberal veneer and outdoorsy appeal, Eugene remains, at its core, a small town steeped in vice, fractured by disarray and floundering in untapped potential — sorta dirty, kinda unpretty and altogether a tad menacing and drug-addled, like a white utopia revved up on the downslide. Continue reading 

Roam Oregon

Ten fall events worth the journey

Eugene and Springfield have a lot to offer in terms of activities — one look at our weekly events calendar will tell you that. But since this is the travel issue, we’re encouraging you to take a step outside Lane County and check out what the rest of Oregon has going on this fall. From storytelling festivals to boat parades, hop on a bus or carpool to these autumn escapades.    Oregon’s Alpenfest Joseph, Oregon Sept. 24-27 Continue reading