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Combining history and outstanding hiking, the Santiam Wagon Road from Mountain House to House Rock passes through impressive old-growth Douglas fir forest and passes a waterfall and a large boulder that both Native Americans and American settlers used for shelter. Continue reading
Last year at the West Coast College Open in Monterey, Calif., the UO Disc Golf Club didn’t win a match, finishing dead last in the tournament. This time around, it was a different story for a program that not long ago was struggling for its survival. Paul Fraser and Cory Higdon both joined in February and have watched the roster quadruple in size. They were part of a teamwide effort to not only win a match but also win the Open. Despite being deep and talented, that they had this much success took them by surprise. Continue reading
An ugly holiday sweater is like eggnog and Macaulay Culkin — once a year they reappear and are enjoyed. “Tis the season, Marge! We only get 30 sweet noggy days. Then the government takes it away again,” Homer Simpson once pined, and few can match Homer’s lust for the holiday spirit(s). Except perhaps for one Derek Zinser, the man behind the inaugural Oregon’s Ugliest Sweater Run 5K on Dec. 15. Continue reading
Walls can do amazing things for a garden. Here in Eugene we rarely see free-standing walls enclosing spaces, but retaining walls abound. I’ve visited many hillside gardens in Eugene that would be just about impossible to cultivate or enjoy without the transformative power of terracing and retaining walls. Materials vary. Poured concrete is practical and can also look great in certain settings. Railroad ties and treated lumber are relatively cheap. Concrete blocks of various kinds are popular, but to me they always look like an opportunity missed. Continue reading
This fall there is a new flock of nine turkeys that circulate through our neighborhood, snooping down our street every other day. Their core must come from the ones that nested on the butte above our home this past spring. The turkey chicks that left the nest in April are now the size of their parents. We are not sure what they find to eat in their foraging; hope their menu includes slugs and snails. Continue reading
Give thanks. Go ahead and feast, share a grand meal with friends and family. Sure, it’s not easy to feel celebratory in these times. Tea Party Republicans did all they could to undermine our confidence, to extol Ayn Rand’s absurd “virtue of selfishness” and to profane the very concept of communion. But this season and the impulses behind it are ancient: We celebrate the harvest. We come together as a community of families to share our bounty, even if we face a bleak winter. Continue reading
Mercedes Russell may have gone from Springfield to Tennessee, but she will have some of her hometown’s support system with her as she starts her collegiate career at one of the biggest powerhouses in women’s basketball. Bill Wagner, her former head coach at Springfield High, will be in attendance when the Lady Volunteers take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 11 in a battle of top-10 teams. And he couldn’t be more excited to see her in action on the big stage. Continue reading
Pelada Football Academy, a youth soccer academy founded as a nonprofit in February, aims to give more kids the opportunity to play and learn while seeking to complement and not compete with other soccer clubs by bringing in kids and their families who find recreational soccer too recreational or competitive soccer too competitive. These kids, in addition to clinics and scrimmages, will have a chance to play more than just soccer. Continue reading