Eugene weekly., November 03, 2016, Page 13, Image 13

IT’S
ABOUT
TIME
BY D AV I D WA G N E R
BIGLEAF
MAPLE
W
hen the rainy season begins as usual
in the Willamette Valley, at the
beginning of October, all is well with
the world. This year the rains came in a
series of unusually powerful storms,
delivering almost twice its average monthly rainfall in
the first two weeks. The wind accompanying the
storms took down many trees, especially near the
coast.
The rivers responded to the downpours with vigor,
filling ponds, backwaters and sloughs with fresh
runoff. The upland soil has soaked up water, too,
causing a lift under houses where the clay subsoil
had dried out during the summer drought. The corners
of our house settle as the clay shrinks in summer,
causing doorjambs to warp and doors to stick. Clay
expands when it rehydrates and this year the sudden
release of doors that had been sticking was dramatic.
The mushroom season that got off to a slow start
in September has, well, mushroomed. The
chanterelles that were dense and almost rubbery at
the end of September are now filling out nicely: tender
and tasty. The switch from summer active plants to
winter active plants has also undertaken a dramatic
turn. Bracken had been drying out and wilting in the
mountains even before the first frost took it down. The
leaves of bigleaf maple had started getting brown and
falling even in August. But mosses on maple branches
are perking up and making spore capsules. Dormant
and invisible all summer long, licorice fern is uncurling
its bright green winter fronds.
• What happened in the Portland courtroom that
caused the jury to acquit Ammon and Ryan Bundy
and their accomplices in the 41-day armed takeover of
the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern
Oregon? One theory is that the prosecution aimed too
high with the charges. Another is that Judge Anna
Brown should have removed two jurors instead of one
when she received a complaint of bias, although that
may not have affected the outcome. Another theory is
that the courtroom clearly was out of control, as
evidenced by the federal marshals chasing and
tackling the defense attorney who shouted at the
judge. Hopefully, government attorneys will do better
in February in Nevada when Cliven Bundy and his sons
face federal charges for their armed standoff with
government agents in 2014.
• The Nov.-Dec. issue of Via, AAA’s magazine, has
quite a spread on downtown Eugene. Listen to this
headline: “The walkable heart of this Willamette Valley
city brims with new gastronomy and artistry. Head
northwest from the University of Oregon to explore 20
delightful blocks.” We’ll take it, a positive promotional
piece by Jennifer Burns Bright, formerly of the local
food blog Culinaria Eugenius.
• Makes us proud. The cover story in the Oct. 31
issue of The Nation magazine compares Texas’ “Jim
Crow Voting Laws,” worst in the country, with Oregon’s
laws, “which make voting incredibly easy.” The writer,
Ari Berman, gives Gov. Kate Brown plenty of credit for
her efforts as secretary of state to pass the motor voter
law, which Berman says has helped Oregon to register
300,000 new voters in the past year, a 14 percent
increase from 2015. Berman reminds us that Oregon
was the first state to automatically register any citizen
who obtains a driver’s license or a state ID at the
Department of Motor Vehicles.
• Dennis Richardson, Republican candidate for
Oregon secretary of state, brags in TV ads and Facebook
posts about his endorsements by the Oregon press.
Eugene Weekly, one of Oregon’s top 10 papers in
circulation numbers, repeats over and over that we do
not endorse him. We urge a vote for Brad Avakian.
Richardson says he will shed his political coloration if
he is secretary of state. That’s impossible to imagine.
Remember that the secretary of state is one of three
members of the state land board, deciders of the
future of the Elliott State Forest, and next in line to be
governor.
• Note for your ballots: We hear from Jim
Evangelista of Realty Kitchen that he is running a
write-in campaign for Large Zone 1 Position on the
Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District.
He writes, “I’ve never considered holding office, but, as
an educator and administrator of a nonprofit
organization serving the employment goals of
individuals experiencing intellectual and
developmental disabilities, I feel qualified and
responsible to bring my own perspectives, experiences
and skills to weighing in on the issues of soil and water
conservation in Lane County.”
David Wagner is a botanist who works in Eugene. He teaches moss
classes, leads nature walks and makes nature calendars. Contact
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