Outside
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The Healthy Yard Pledge: A “greener” yard and garden is the goal

Look forward to summer! Ringlet and Hairstreaks on Oregon Sunshine in my backyard. Well, now that winter is on the wane, it’s time to warm
Jim Anderson

Look forward to summer! Ringlet and Hairstreaks on Oregon Sunshine in my backyard. Well, now that winter is on the wane, it's time to warm your soul a little by looking forward to summer and short-sleeve gardening. (Don't let all the snow fool you, this is just a normal Central Oregon spring – honest!)
 
Audubon – as in The National Audubon Society has a nifty idea on their website, "The Healthy Yard Pledge," a common-sense approach to being a "greener" gardener and, therefore, a better steward when it come to conservation of our land, soil, air and water.
"Conservation," said Aldo Leopold, "is a state of harmony between man and the land."

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Spring Road Trip: Teton adventures and local trail building

Mike Bookey

trekking the tetons over spring break. Jackson, Wyoming
Spring break is always a great time for a road trip and a good excuse to sample outdoor adventures in other areas. With that in mind, my wife, Molly, and I headed east to Jackson, Wyoming for a week of outdoor adventure. Arriving in Jackson Friday afternoon, we went straight to Teton Village to register for the Randonee Rally Race to be held the next day at the Jackson Hole resort. I signed up for the race division that was set to climb a total of 6185 feet. We woke Saturday morning to clear, cold, sunny skies, which was a shock to the locals after a near record breaking snow year. Driving out of town to the race, the Teton Range lit up in a glorious alpenglow. Nez Perce, Buck Mountain, Coudveil Dome, Teewinot, and the South, Middle, and Grand Tetons were all out in full beauty. After a brief warm-up, the race started with a mixture of mostly alpine touring skiers, a few telemark skiers, and one split boarder trekking up a groomed slope.

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Bachelor Butte: A fiery past lies under the blanket of snow

No matter what the name, or how it is used or abused, Bachelor is still a fine old volcano.Most residents of Bend, Sunriver and Redmond
Jim Anderson

No matter what the name, or how it is used or abused, Bachelor is still a fine old volcano.Most residents of Bend, Sunriver and Redmond see the lovely, 9,000-plus-foot-high volcano every morning. It stands alone, like an old bachelor, among the crowded Cascade skyline. Millions of people have hiked and been hauled to the top, then hiked or skied down her slopes and – I'm sorry to say – probably never given a thought as to when and how it got there.
 
Bachelor wasn't alone in its violent and hot past. It belongs to a string of volcanic events about a mile and a half long, known geologically as the "Mount Bachelor Volcanic Chain" (MBVC).
If the volcano hadn't become an outstanding skiing area, it would probably still have its early name, "Bachelor Butte" as it was known when it was just a fair-to-middling shield volcano just across the Cascade Lakes Highway from Tumalo Mt.

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Kiddie Bikes and Clown Feet: An spectator’s perspective on EX-treme winter triathlons

Off To the RacesI was totally baited. All I had to do was either keep commuting on my bike in the winter (which I did
Luke Smith

Off To the RacesI was totally baited. All I had to do was either keep commuting on my bike in the winter (which I did for three and a half years) or train a bit in a spin class (somewhat less likely), or run a bit in the snow. (How hard could that be? I coach high school cross-country and track.) I skate ski a bit and feel race-worthy in the winter.
 
Well, I broke down and bought an $800 Volvo this winter, so Mr. Smith the bike commuter became Mr. Smith, the guy with four pairs of skis in the car who went through headlamp batteries like a (insert simile here).
And Mr. Run All The Time developed a foot ache best described as the "sissy foot" that precluded any running other than down to the mailbox, or over to the coffeehouse, or more frequently, "how fast do I have to run to set a personal record for sliding across the hardwood floor."
In other words, I had no reason not to enter.

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Get the lead out!Lead shot remains a significant danger to waterfowl and wildlife

Jim Anderson

Golden Eagle suffering from lead poisoning. (Note scars on toes from walking on its knuckels.) As if shootings, electrocution and collisions with vehicles are not
enough for eagles to cope with, now portentous lead poisoning has
reared its ugly head.
Lead is a toxic metal deposited in the
environment through hunting, fishing and recreational shooting, and
will not break down into less-toxic compounds and will persist
indefinitely. Lead toxicity can have lethal consequences that
compromise avian survival and reproductive success. Consequently, lead
has killed a variety of birds, and it won't be too long before it will
travel through the food chain and seep into the human body.

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Better than Christmas

The Source Staff

After four-plus months of college basketball, it's finally here. The
NCAA tournament: the last pure thing remaining in the world of sports;
the reason we would rather have every day of our lives be the first day
of the tourney and not Christmas.
But before the games get rolling,
there is the obligatory bitchfest following Selection Sunday, with
sports writers, commentators, coaches, and conference officials putting
in their two cents as to who made the field of 65 (don't forget the
Tuesday night play-in game) and who will stay home. This year's
Selection Sunday was tamer than years past, but there were some teams
like Arizona State (19-12 overall, tied for fourth place in the Pac-10)
that didn't make the dance.The West Coast is touting its best tourney
roster in recent memory with six Pac-10 teams and another three from
the West Coast Conference. Does this mean the East Coast basketball
bias, fueled by the likes of Dick Vitale (who should hang up the mic
before he either goes mute or gets punched in the face) is over? No.
It's not. But we'll take what we can get.

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Out Our Backdoor: Winter running, mtb trails and more

Mike Bookey

Kaleidoscope Run
Trail running: Bend’s instant outdoor experienceOminous clouds loomed overhead as I set out for a
run this past week at a park on the west side of town. The sun's rays
were hidden behind clouds and my eyes and ears were on autopilot,
looking and listening but not seeing and hearing. This can easily
happen in the fast-paced world in which we live. We rush through a
day's work, then off to sneak in a quick outdoor workout before
speeding home to spend time with the family. Cooking, cleaning, chores,
a quick read and off to bed before getting up to repeat another day. It
is easy to fall into the trap of not taking the time to truly
appreciate our surroundings.

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It’s All About Water: The Oregon Water Handbook examines our relationship with the liquid of life

It’s All About WaterThe Oregon Water Handbook examines our relationship with the liquid of lifeBy Jim AndersonIt seems every newscaster you watch on TV or
Jim Anderson

It's All About WaterThe Oregon Water Handbook examines our relationship with the liquid of lifeBy Jim AndersonIt seems every newscaster you watch on TV or hear on the radio seems to think that ideal weather condition in Central Oregon is clear skies. Rain and snow suggest bad news. Not in my book! Rain means water for the desert, and snow translates to water in the aquifers.

It's been said that the next war will not be over oil, but water. The hullabaloo a while back over Coca-Cola allegedly seeking control over water in India appears to support at least a corporate war over water.

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The Importance of Erin Andrews

There are a lot of litmus tests for sports fans. There’s your Superfan who can tell what years that Sandy Koufax won the Cy Young
Eric Flowers

There are a lot of litmus tests for sports fans. There's your Superfan who can tell what years that Sandy Koufax won the Cy Young and what his ERA was in each of those seasons. There's The Schwab - ESPN's in house statistician turned game show/freak show on Stump the Schwab - who can tell you well, everything. Then there's your average fan who can tell you, given some time, who won last year's NFC title game, ALCS Championship and BCS Series.
An easier way to differentiate between guys who know about sports and guys who know of sports is to make a reference to Erin Andrews.

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Going with the Flow

Spring time is the right timeAh, March. The sweet smell of spring is in the air. Flowers are soon to bloom, songbirds are starting to
Eric Flowers

Spring time is the right timeAh, March. The sweet smell of spring is in the air. Flowers are soon to bloom, songbirds are starting to sing, and migratory species - including violet green swallows – are soon to return. And the skies are beginning to clear. The mountains stand tall and proud, displaying their wintry carpets. Sunrises and sunsets are unparalleled. Flaming mosaics paint the morning and evening skies, lighting up the forested foothills and Cascades. This is the perfect time and place for outdoor recreating. Climbing, hiking, mountain biking, running, alpine skiing, road biking, paragliding, skateboarding, snowboarding, kayaking, bouldering, Nordic skiing and many more self-propelled outdoor sports are prime during Central Oregon's springtime.

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