4A ܂ WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 2018 ܂ APPEAL TRIBUNE Life in the Valley A time-honored tradition Pet enthusiasts turn out for Silverton’s annual pet parade What’s up with the Douglas firs ‘dying?’ Gardening Carol Savonen Guest columnist Lucy and Abby Schiffer snuggle with their goat Marshmallow. PHOTOS BY CHRISTENA BROOKS/SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE Christena Brooks Special to the Appeal Tribune USA TODAY NETWORK Pet lovers, young and old, showed up for Silverton’s annual pet parade this past May, walking, trotting and rolling through town with their favorite animal companions. Devised in 1932 as inexpensive en- tertainment for Silverton residents dur- ing the Great Depression, the parade re- mains a time-honored tradition, run by Kiwanis Club of Silverton. As usual, crowds gathered to “ooh” and “ah” over the simple wonders of the Animal King- dom. Some participants were in groups, carrying banners or riding on floats. Most, though, were just animal lovers who showed up on parade day. A no- fee, no-hassle, no-registration ap- proach is the way the Kiwanis Club likes to run the event. “It’s always been that way,” said Ran- dal Thomas, parade chairperson and past Kiwanis president. “You never know what you’re going to get … but we do it that way so anybody can just come.” Nearby was Marshmallow, a Nigeri- an dwarf goat, being halter-led by Lucy and Abby Schiffer. The girls chose to bring Marshmallow over some of the others in their herd – Graham Cracker, Hershey, Coal and Ember – because “she’s the nicest,” they said. Piper and Ginger Sampson walked in the parade with their dog Handsome, a German shepherd, their parents, and their neighbor Hudson Keough. The girls’ mom said, laughingly, “We brought our good dog. We have two bad dogs at home.” Robert Jones brought along his 5- year-old Great Dane, Zeus, a rangy ca- nine with soulful eyes that stands as high as a pony. “Great Danes are the best dogs in the world,” Jones enthused. “They love all animals, they love all kids … they are the best dogs ever.” As simple as the parade appeared, it took nearly 60 volunteers to make it happen. They did everything from se- Piper and Ginger Sampson and Hudson Keough with their dog, Handsome. curing permits, to stuffing 400 goodie bags for kids, to putting out signs, Thomas said. Bringing up the rear was the Kiwa- nis’ cleanup crew. The tradition of leav- ing the task to club leaders and local politicians remained unchanged. Sil- verton Mayor Kyle Palmer and State Rep. Rick Lewis shoveled while other volunteers rolled along with trashcans. “This parade is a quintessential small-town, event,” Thomas said. “Ev- erybody’s eyes, from grandparents to kids, just light up.” Students take part in Science Night Christena Brooks Special to the Appeal Tribune USA TODAY NETWORK Students at Scotts Mills School were the latest beneficiaries of the school district’s expanding effort to promote science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Science teacher Clarissa Bay and a cadre of volunteers from Silverton High School and Silverton Middle School led a night of scientific experimentation and exploration in the gym at the rural K-8 school in May. These volunteers ran a variety of sta- tions, leading their younger peers in ac- tivities ranging from making catapults to learning about robots. Giovanni Aiazzi shows off the tower he built, as Alan and Alyse Plas look on. SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE Question: I live outside of town in the hills. There is a lot of Douglas fir and mixed oak and other trees around here. It looks like there are a lot of Douglas Firs are dying/turning red this year. Do you have any idea what is go- ing on? Answer: You are not alone. A similar thing is happening out- side of the Corvallis area. My neigh- borhood association recently invited a forester from Oregon Department of Forestry talk about Douglas fir “die- off ” at a recent home owners associa- tion meeting. Basically, his points were: ܂ Douglas fir trees are sensitive to change in water and overall climate. ܂ We have had changes that might stress trees including major ice storms over the past few winters and a drought trend since 2014. ܂ Trees under stress are more sus- ceptible/vulnerable to insect pests and pathogens. Long-term drought has become a major stressor to Douglas fir and other conifers in our region, according to OSU Extension foresters. And sometimes these “flare out” re- sponses are delayed and don’t show their symptoms until the following growing season. Without enough water and/or pro- longed heat, conifers become physio- logically stressed. Subsequently, they become vulnerable to attack by insects and fungal disease. Douglas fir is most commonly af- fected by prolonged drought stress, but similar problems occur with other conifers including grand fir, noble fir, western red cedar and western hem- lock. Drought-stressed Douglas fir trees often become afflicted with stem can- ker fungi — normally weak pathogens that become damaging in trees under stress. The cankers can coalesce to gir- dle branches or stems. These can be- come sites of attack by wood boring in- sects including bark beetles. Symptoms from drought stress on Douglas fir include thinning needles and tree crowns. Reddish colored dead branches and tops are common. Wood boring insects and fungi arrive and colonize weakened parts of the trees. Common pests include: Douglas fir twig weevils, wood boring beetles and Douglas fir engraver beetles, which may girdle branches or kill cambium. Canker disease and other fungi dis- eases usually increase after drier than normal weather and subside during periods of normal or above normal rainfall.Normally, a healthy tree can fight these off, but not a drought stressed tree. Woodpeckers take advantage of the insect bounty in the tree. Frequent vis- its to feed on a Douglas fir tree might indicate the tree has an infestation of wood boring insects . The Oregon Department of Forestry forecasts more changes ahead to Ore- gon’s forests if current weather/cli- mate trends continue. On their website about Oregon Forest Benefits they state: “Oregon’s forest ecosystems will be significantly affected by the changes in climate predicted to occur if green- house gas emissions are not reduced in the coming decades. The frequency, severity, and area burned by forest wildfires is expected to increase along with higher rates of tree mortality from droughts, insects, and disease. There is already evidence of altered geo- graphic distributions of many plant species, longer fire seasons, and high- er numbers of wildfires than in the past.” And speaking of wildfire, it is now time to prepare your property for wild- fire season. Clean up your property to reduce wildfire threat. Most impor- tantly, start with the house (and the roof) and the first 30 feet extending from the outermost part of the struc- ture, including detached garages and sheds. Your homework this week is to clean your roof and gutters. Next week, I’ll talk about this more specifically and discuss steps you can take in your yard and garden to dis- courage wildfire on your property.