Longer days, warmer temperatures, and puffy white clouds mean that spring is finally here in the high desert. As the season progresses, so do our local wildflowers moving from tiny, early bloomers to larger, bolder blooms. The high desert is alive with color in May and June, so soak in this brief season of green, […]
Natural World
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The Fishing Sparrow
Last year, my wife Sue and I completed a 10-year survey of the Golden Eagle populations in a huge area of Central and Eastern Oregon. Throughout the survey Sue told me again and again, “Let’s wait a little longer,” when we came to a nest site with apparently nothing going on. Sure enough, sometimes it […]
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Save Water, Plant Native!
The planting and care of native plants adapted to the Central Oregon landscape
Water—or lack thereof—is a hot topic these days. According to the latest Oregon Climate Assessment, more than one-third of Oregon has been in a drought for the last 20 years, and we aren’t likely to return to what we all think of as “normal” water conditions. The situation in Central Oregon is especially dire for […]
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Earth Day, in Homage to This Wonderful Planet
April 22 has become a worldwide celebration and reaffirmation of the importance of this endlessly wonderous ecosystem we call Earth
Humans excel at classification. One of the wonderful tricks of neurocognition is finding similarities and patterns. Classification is the process by which things are differentiated so that similar things can immediately be recognized and with a basis of understanding established. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and polymath, had some of the earliest definitive writing classifying and […]
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Hey, What’s That Sound?
The tap-tap-tap of the woodpecker is a common occurrence this time of year
There are many examples of engineering marvels in the natural world which humans have yet to replicate. One of these astonishing feats is the skill of a woodpecker. These incredible birds slam their head into trees at up to 20 times a second—the equivalent of going from zero to 26,000 mph. At this acceleration the […]
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Become an X Kid
Teaching kids the benefits of insects in the natural world
Many years ago, like back before WWII, there was a butterfly called the Xerces blue, scientific name, Glaucopsyche xerces. It lived in sand dunes on the edge of San Francisco in California and — like the Monarch butterfly that must have milkweed for its babies to feed on — the Xerces blue caterpillars depended on […]
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Alternatives to Pesticides
The short-term results on your lawn that have long-term environmental consequences
As we come into spring and our landscape tasks, it is timely to review what products we will be using to make our landscape happy, beautiful and safe. For aesthetic purposes, pesticides are widely used on lawns, landscapes and open space. Many of these chemicals harm human health and the environment with both immediate and […]
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Is Climate Anxiety Bad for the Planet?
Heat domes, atmospheric rivers, bomb cyclones… It’s easy to get overwhelmed.
Lovers of the natural world know that the signs of climate change are everywhere. Record warm temperatures and low snow in winter, early wildflowers in spring (or winter!), smoky skies and fires in the summer, and the new lexicon of heat domes, atmospheric rivers, and bomb cyclones. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when we see […]
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The Oregon Giant Earthworm
A rare earthworm slithers beneath the Willamette Valley
This winter, a Bureau of Land Management timber project in Oregon’s Coast Range became newsworthy because of the possible presence of an extremely rare and unusual creature: the Oregon giant earthworm (Drilolerius macelfreshi). Really, such a creature exists. Two independent sightings occurred in and around the project area, but remain “unconfirmed” because as Doug Heiken, […]
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ONDA Lines Up Its High Desert Speaker Series
Enjoy programs about the ecology and history of the High Desert from the comfort of home
Oregon Natural Desert Association’s High Desert Speaker Series begins Tuesday, Feb. 15 and continues through the spring with three outstanding presenters queued up. “I’m excited about this year’s offerings,” said Corinne Handelman, ONDA engagement manager. “The goal of the series is to take a deeper look at the High Desert, which is a vast landscape […]