Garden clean-up is an important, if tedious task. Proper end-of-season care will help minimize the spread of disease and can keep weeds down over the winter. It will also help your perennial plants survive the winter and make your yard look neater. It might help make things easier if you[Read More…]
Emerald Valley Almanac
Do-it-yourself bone broth
For me the cooler weather signals that it is time to get the crockpot out from its summer resting place. Who wants to heat up the house with a roast or pot of bones simmering for 36 hours on a hot day? When I was growing up in our home,[Read More…]
FREEDOM TO READ
“Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.” — Stephen Chbosky Author of the frequently challenged “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” This is National Banned Book Week. It is a celebration of[Read More…]
Light pollution
Light pollution is excessive, inappropriate, intrusive artificial light. Different types of light pollution have been identified, including: Glare (think car headlights); skyglow – the result all the light that escapes upward, causing the night sky to appear light; light trespass – light falling where it is not wanted; and light[Read More…]
Water! Water!
Emergency: A sudden, unexpected serious situation that requires immediate action. It’s because the need is sudden, and most often unexpected, that we need to be prepared at all times. We’ve been lucky here in the Willamette Valley; we haven’t had any major weather events beyond the frequent, and comparably mild,[Read More…]
Mint chocolate chip keto fat bombs
Contrary to what you may still hear or read on mainstream media, saturated fat rich tropical oils such as coconut and palm are healthy fat choices. It is best to buy these oils with organic and rainforest alliance certification. Tropical oils are good options for cooking or frying and are[Read More…]
Keeping your cool with food
Though the 100-degree days are behind us, we still have plenty of warm days ahead, and such days often call for cold meals. With gardens at their highest output this time of year, cold dishes are easy to put together. Salads Of course the first thing cold food might bring[Read More…]
Understanding our five senses
Our senses enable us to navigate and make sense of our environment, but more importantly, they enable us to find food and mates, and to avoid danger. Our sense of taste and smell help us to learn what’s poisonous and what’s edible. Our sense of touch tells us when our[Read More…]
The Buzz Around Fly Fishing
Fly fishing has benefitted from advancements in fly-rod manufacturing technology. Pictured is my 50-year-old Hardy reel milled from a single block of aluminum. The essentials – fir and feathers wrapped on a hook, cast by a rod and line – remain. There is no consensus of historians about who invented[Read More…]
A Nostalgic Travelogue: Exploring Yellowstone
As spring and summer open up and we consider taking a one- or two-week vacation with social distancing in mind, we are blessed in the Northwest with many national parks. Oregon has Crater Lake, while Washington state has three – Mt. Rainer, Olympic, and North Cascades. Let us consider Yellowstone[Read More…]
