The East County Gazette » Nature Northwest

You owe it to grass

Chuck Bolsinger — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 01:48:22 +0000

by Chuck Bolsinger Grass (Gramineae or Poaceae family) has always been the most important plant family to humans. Early tribes of hunters and gatherers had a diet heavy to meat from grass-eating animals; then some 4,000-plus... Read more

Bird Quiz for Jetpackers

Chuck Bolsinger — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 20:19:20 +0000

by Chuck Bolsinger Personal jetpacks are coming, some “futurists” are saying. They’ll revolutionize travel. No waiting at stop lights, no backed up traffic, no going miles out of your way just because roads go that... Read more

Little apples

Julie Gomez — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:24:15 +0000

by Julie Gomez While hiking the other day, instead of taking the trail to the left, as I so often do, I took the trail to the right. Either direction, upriver or downriver, the Sandy River hurried wildly... Read more

Hardy laurel, myrtlewood misnomers, and monkey-bush

Chuck Bolsinger — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:12:33 +0000

by Chuck Bolsinger Last summer, my wife and I stopped at a gift shop in a coastal town in southern Oregon and admired their myrtlewood ware---bowls of various sizes, salt and pepper shakers, clocks, sconces, bookends, etc.,... Read more

The most beautiful fern on earth

Julie Gomez — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:48:25 +0000

by Julie Gomez Ferns are one of those plants that nearly everyone enjoys, myself included. One of my favorites is the lovely western maidenhair; even the name is intriguing. Some say it is the most beautiful fern on Earth. I agree. In addition... Read more

How Lucky learned to snake dance

Chuck Bolsinger — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:16:01 +0000

by Chuck Bolsinger Something was terribly wrong at home, but I didn’t know it yet when I got off the school bus and began walking down the unmaintained road that led to my grandparents’ farm, a mile to the north. A high school junior, I’d... Read more

Hardy laurel, myrtlewood misnomers, and monkey-bush

Chuck Bolsinger — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:08:43 +0000

by Chuck Bolsinger Last summer, my wife and I stopped at gift shop in a coastal town in southern Oregon and admired their myrtlewood ware---bowls of various sizes, salt and pepper shakers, clocks, sconces, bookends, etc., etc. ... Read more

The benefits of turkey tail tea

Julie Gomez — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:31:52 +0000

by Julie Gomez Before the holidays, I told my husband about a small colony of turkey tail lichens I’d found growing on a hemlock stump in the woods behind our house. Their numbers didn’t amount to more than a handful, but I... Read more

A Few of my favorite February wildflowers

Chuck Bolsinger — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:09:52 +0000

by Chuck Bolsinger Wildflowers in February? Here in northwest Oregon? Yes, and it was a surprise to me when I made that discovery during my first winter in Oregon many years ago. The fifth of February started out foggy and frosty, then turned... Read more

Near Nature Northwest

Julie Gomez — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:10:22 +0000

Wild salad thyme by Julie Gomez It’s amazing how many plants we see in our everyday lives, and that we call weeds are actually edible. One such plant that can be brought to the table is a common herb known as thyme-leaved... Read more