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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2014)
8 in other words december18 2014 Diggin’ in the Dirt: Great Christmas Ideas By Chip Bubl Oregon State University Extension Service - Columbia County Master Gardener™ Class Sign-ups being taken The OSU Extension office in Columbia County will be offering the Master Gardener™ training again in St. Helens this winter/spring. The classes will be held on Mondays from 9 am – 4 pm for 10 weeks starting on January 5th, 2015. Cost of the program is $75.00 which includes a large resource book. Master Gardeners are responsible for providing volunteer gardening education to the community as partial payback for the training. If interested in the program, call the Extension office at 503-397-3462 for an information packet. Alternatively, you can email Vick Krenz at vicki.krenz@oregonstate.edu and she will get the packet right out to you. Jan’s Great Christmas Ideas Jan McNeilan, our thoughtful emeritus OSU Extension Service Master Gardener program leader in Metro Portland (and whose husband, Ray, co- founded the program in the late 1970s in Oregon), has the following gift ideas to share (slightly edited): • A gardener’s journal to record planting dates, varieties, successes from year to year; • A gift certificate for ‘x’ hours of help in the yard; • Hand soaps and creams designed especially for extra dirty, chapped hands; • Interesting hand-painted flowerpots; • A nice pair of leather gardening gloves to prevent injury and chapped, rough skin, or flexible, rubberized cotton gloves that keep fingernails clean and hands dry while mucking about in the garden; • A water timer for hose-fed sprinklers for carefree watering; • Bouquets and wreaths of dried flowers; • A high-quality pruning saw, hand pruner or lopper to make winter pruning a pleasure and a good pruning book to help the education process (the one by Christopher Brickell is especially useful); • Easy grip or smaller hand tools for gardeners with arthritis; • A collapsible compost bin to recycle kitchen and yard waste; • Some small, beautiful vases to display special single blossoms; • A long spouted water pot for easy houseplant care; • A new ever-sharp pair of garden scissors for snipping herbs and flowers; • A hand-woven basket with a handle for gathering herbs and vegetables; • A large garden cart to carry tools and soil amendments out to the garden in one trip; • Kneepads or a gardening stool to make weeding and low work less of a strain; • Metal supports for tall spring tulips and later for supporting tomato plants; • Permanent tags to mark the sites of your favorite perennials and bulbs or to mark the rows in next spring’s vegetable patch; • A seed sower to easily set tiny seeds into soil at exactly the proper interval; • A soil thermometer to measure soil temperature, vital for spring planting; Natural Path: Believe By Dr. Carol McIntyre • Tools, tools and more tools – those hand trowels by OXO are really well made as are some of the cast aluminum products; well-designed and constructed shovels and spading forks are a joy; • A long-handled bulb planter to make digging small deep holes for bulbs a cinch; • Gardening books or a gift certificate for a store that carries oodles of garden books - there are so many! • Bulbs to plant in bowls and vases for early indoor bloom; • A gift certificate for plants/tools from a favorite nursery; • Children’s gardening tools to encourage young folks to start the gardening habit; • And, of course, presents for wildlife such as bird feeders or baths, bat houses, orchard mason bee blocks, etc. Odds and Ends... Leaves that froze on apple and other trees should finally be dropping. Their normal cycle of leaf drop was short-circuited by the early freeze several weeks ago. While it looked strange, there is no indication that the freeze impacts of leaf drop alone will cause tree injury. The earliness of the cold is another matter. Like all potential winter injury events, we really won’t know what happened until the plants start growing next spring. Peach leaf curl finds its way into the buds on your peach tree this month and in January. Prevent the problem by spraying completely and often with lime sulfur or copper. Four separate sprays are ideal. Temperatures should be well above freezing when you spray. Two joyed spectacular lectures. It was a wonderful experi- ence as it is every year. We all believe in things. To believe is to accept I learned that OANP has made significant mea- that something is true. To have belief is to have trust or sures in the scope of our practice and recognition this have faith that something is true. This is the season for past year. As of January 1 st , Naturopathic doctors will believing! Our children have certain beliefs during the be reimbursed equally as Medical doctors. This came holidays, as we do as adults. about because of the belief that we as Naturopathic Everyone is different. This is what brings us physicians had, and still have, in the efficacy of our together. We learn from one another. We embrace each medicine. other. We celebrate together. In the past, Naturopathic doctors have been This weekend, I attended my yearly OANP “under recognized” by the government and insurance (Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians) con- agencies for our services. To have this new law passed ference. I saw many of my long lost colleagues and en- is a wonderful achievement for all Naturopathic physi- cians and the efforts of the OANP. We are now being recognized as an equal en- tity contributing to the wel- fare of our society. Working as I do in this small community means a lot to me. I see January 4th Vernonia at the Fire station from 12-3 what extraordinary projects 555 E. Bridge St. Vernonia, OR 97064 other NDs are involved in January 25th Rainier at the Fire station from 12-3 and it makes me proud to 211 West 2nd Street, Rainier, OR 97048 know my colleagues are so February 15th St. Helens at the Shelter from 12-3 expansive. Many are trav- March 1st St. Helens at the Shelter from 12-4 eling to other countries to 2084 Oregon St, St. Helens 97051 provide health care and ed- Call 503-396-3239 to register two or more pets. ucating as well. This is im- portant work and is much DOGS CATS needed in many areas of the DHLPP $15 FVRCP $15 world. I am very proud to BORDATELLA $12 FELV $15 see others in my profession RABIES $10 COMBO $25 carrying out this work. RABIES $10 For me, serving a Microchips are $25 for dogs or cats small community and bringing health care and education is imperative. This is how we learn and come together. I am so hap- Columbia Humane Society Vaccine Clinics for Dogs and Cats to three hours of drying time is ideal. With copper fungicides, use a spreader- sticker if the label calls for one. While you’re at it, spray your apples, cherries, blueberries, and boysen/marionberries. Donate extra produce to the food bank, senior center, or community meals programs. Cash donations to buy food are also greatly appreciated. The Extension Service offers its programs and materials equally to all people. Free Newsletter The Oregon State University Extension office in Columbia County publishes a monthly newsletter on gardening and farming topics (called County Living) written/edited by yours truly. All you need to do is ask for it and it will be mailed to you. Call 503 397- 3462 to be put on the list. Alternatively, you can find it on the web at http:// extension.oregonstate.edu/columbia/ and click on newsletters. You can also be sent an email when the newsletter is posted. Contact information for the Extension office Oregon State University Extension Service – Columbia County 505 N. Columbia River Highway (across from the Legacy clinic) St. Helens, OR 97051 503 397-3462 Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu py to say that I have patients of all ages and walks of life. All of my patients are gracious to receive my in- sight and embrace my treatment protocols. I believe in this. I believe in the wisdom of the medicine. I believe in the power of vis (the body’s natural ability to heal). Most of all I believe in the first rule of Naturopathic medicine: “First, Do No Harm.” We all believe. It is imperative that we do! Continue to believe. Even if you don’t believe in Nat- ural medicine, think back to your family’s “old rem- edies”… eat onion when you have a cold. Take a luke warm bath when you have a fever. Put a potato on your bee sting. Take honey to avoid allergies! Treatments have evolved over the years with patient experience and research. I still enjoy having patients coming into the office with their own down home remedies~ I always take note. Most everything they share with me now has clinical research to back the mechanism of action (the way it actually works) and are efficient. I love providing health care in a small town and learning at the same time. I believe that it is ALL relevant. I believe that we all have an anecdote to share. It is my job to discern whether grandma’s old recipe for cough will be effec- tive or not, based on tradition AND clinical research. This is what makes me a Naturopathic doctor. I put it all together. I like that. I believe in that. My belief is that one day we will all believe in the medicine I prac- tice. I think we are constantly moving toward that goal. May you have a wonderful holiday! Spend time with friends and family. Share recipes (with me too!) Enjoy your time~ Breathe. Eat. Walk. Laugh. Love. Check in with the office as there will be a few changes as of the New Year. I am bringing in two new practitioners, a massage therapist and a Reiki master. Rates will change a bit~ I will be offering a 1/2 hour acupuncture treatment at a discounted price. Inquire within. Blessings to you all~ Thanks for joining me~ Be Well~ Happy Holidays!
