Wednesday, April 29, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
SIMUNDSON: Creative
side of high school
helped shape her
Stars over Sisters
By Holly Werts & Delsie McCrystal
Correspondents
Continued from page 11
people in this way,= she said.
Working with plants and
herbs allow her to connect
back to the land and to her
community.
Simundson attended
Sisters High School and was
involved in the Americana
Project, art classes and the
jewelry programs. A big part
of her schooling was involved
in the creative world and
she sees it as something that
shaped who she is.
<We were really supported
to pursue careers in creativity
and herbalism is creative in a
way,= she said.
She was heavily involved
in the Sisters community
through her involvement with
the Sisters Folk Festival and
Americana Project and she
sees how important it is to be
involved in a web of a com-
munity and appreciate that
sense of place.
<Making yourself avail-
able to your community is
essential and being involved
is how I found my passions
and appreciation for a sense
of place,= she said.
Simundson is currently liv-
ing in Santa Barbara and has
her own apothecary and is
working on growing her own
herb garden. She is currently
taking on new clients via her
website with virtual meet-
ings. Right now, she is doing
a pay-what-you-can program
in order to support people as a
listening ear for health during
this time.
During this time of self-
isolation, Simundson had
some tips to look after your-
self. She suggests:
<Number 1, be gentle with
yourself; do what you need
for you. Find joy and laughter
in small things. Ask for help
if you need it. Prioritize sleep,
take naps. Prioritize eat-
ing healthy foods and herbs
(including edible mushrooms,
savory herbs are great anti-
virals). Eat and drink warm
and soothing foods; things
like chai, cinnamon, soups
and foods to keep you warm.
Wear socks and warm clothes;
don9t get cold. Take baths
with herbs. Nourish your ner-
vous system with relaxing
activities and healthy foods.=
She plans to develop more
blends to sell to the gen-
eral public and expand her
business.
<I want people to know
that I am available as a
resource right now and a
listening ear to anyone and
everyone,= she said.
For more information
reach out to her on Instagram
at jaimeesong or email jai-
meesimundson@gmail.com
or visit jaimeesimundson.
com.
13
We Oregonians are still
faithfully practicing social
distancing as a way to deal
with the coronavirus pan-
demic. At least we9ll have
some fine sights to see in
the night sky to help pass
the time.
One of the more promi-
nent springtime constella-
tions is Virgo. It is also the
largest zodiacal constel-
lation and second biggest
overall; only Hydra takes
up more area of the celes-
tial sphere. Virgo is easy to
locate because of the con-
stellation9s brightest star
Spica, sixteenth brightest
in the entire sky. Start at the
Big Dipper and follow the
arc of its handle to Arcturus,
brightest star in Boötes.
From here continue arc-
ing southward and the next
bright star will be Spica.
Because the earth9s axis
of rotation is tilted with
respect to its orbit around
the sun (the ecliptic), the
planes of the celestial equa-
tor and the ecliptic are not
coincident. As a result, the
two planes intersect at two
locations in space (called
nodes). One of these nodes
resides in Virgo not far
from the star Beta Virginis.
Autumn officially begins
when the sun reaches this
point on its annual journey
across the sky. The other
node, that marks the begin-
ning of spring, is in Pisces.
Virgo and its neighbor to
the north, Coma Berenices,
contain the largest collec-
tion of bright galaxies found
anywhere in the sky. And
many of them are within
reach of modest-sized back-
yard telescopes. Some have
strange-sounding names,
such as the Eyes Galaxies
(NGC 4435 and NGC 4438)
and the Siamese Twins
Galaxies (NGC 4567 and
NGC 4568). But the most
visually impactful has to be
M104, the famous Sombrero
Galaxy, so named because
its appearance resembles a
Mexican sombrero to many.
The galaxy has a bright
white core that is sur-
rounded by thick dust lanes
and it has a halo made up
of older stars and globular
clusters. Some astronomers
believe that M104 is actu-
ally two galaxies in one, a
thin disk galaxy within the
large elliptical galaxy. But
not everyone buys into this
theory, as some think the
small disk galaxy would
have not likely survived
the collision. This impres-
sive object is located some
29 million light-years from
Earth.
In Greek mythology
there are many versions of
Virgo9s story. One of these
tales relates Virgo with
Dike, the goddess of justice.
Dike was the daughter of
Zeus and Themis, who was
born a mortal and put on
Earth to rule human justice.
Zeus introduced the four
seasons to humankind, but
they began to not honor the
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The stunning Sombrero Galaxy is 29 million light-years away in the
constellation of Virgo.
gods like they did before.
Dike warned the people
not to abandon the ide-
als of their predecessors or
worse things would come.
When wars began to break
out Dike declared that the
people were too evil, and
she didn9t want to deal with
them anymore. So, she left
Earth and ascended into the
sky, to where Virgo is today.
On May 21 Mercury
and Venus will lie about a
degree apart in the western
sky 45 minutes after sun-
set. If you9ve never seen
the solar system9s smallest
planet before, now is your
chance. Once you catch
sight of Venus (you will
have no trouble doing this),
the dimmer Mercury will
lie nearby. The morning sky
features the two gas giants
Jupiter and Saturn, posi-
tioned about five degrees
apart all month.
The moon is closest to
the earth, called perigee, on
May 5 when it comes within
223,478 miles at 8:03 p.m.
local time. By 12:45 a.m. on
May 18 the moon will reach
its farthest point from the
earth (apogee), a distance of
252,018 miles.
A full moon will light up
the night sky on May 7, then
go on the wane. By May 22
our only natural circling orb
will disappear into the sun9s
glare before reemerging to
begin anew another cycle of
phases.
Year-round
FIREWOOD
SALES
— Kindling —
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SISTERS
FOREST PRODUCTS
541-410-4509
SistersForestProducts.com
Stitchin’ Post is OPEN
For CURBSIDE SERVICE
9am-Noon, Monday - Friday
(until further notice)
Call ahead and order/pay via phone,
and we will bring your order out to your car.
OR email stitchin@stitchinpost.com with your order and
phone number, and we will call to get your credit card info.
Hours: M-F 8 to 5, Sat. 8 to 4:30, Closed Sundays
440 N. Pine St. • 541-549-8141 • www.hoyts.net
We are keeping our
community safe by
limiting operations
to emergency
treatment only.
Trevor Frideres, D . M . D .
Greg Everson, D . M . D .
541-549-2011
491 E. Main Ave. • Sisters
www.sistersdental.com
Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Thank you for
your support!
311 W. Cascade Ave.
Sisters, Oregon • (541) 549-6061
stitchinpost.com
“Sisters Businesses are Here to Serve” page to find curbside pick up, delivery, and more.