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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2019)
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 // 13 Earthworms By LYNETTE RAE MCADAMS FOR COAST WEEKEND Lynette Rae McAdams A European earthworm (aka, a “nightcrawler”) in Lynette Rae McAdams’ fl ower bed. In the background are hyacinth fl owers. for 22 $ ECIAL! Y PIZ Z A DA Piz 2 zas SP TU ES Dining Out North Coast and Peninsula S ILIE FAM OME! C WE L Hungry Harbor GrillE 3 13 Pa c ific Hw y, Do w n to w n Lo n g Be a c h, W A 3 60-642-5555 • w w w.hu n gryha rb o r.c o m –– COM E EN JOY OUR K ITE ROOM ! –– TU E 22 $ FT G EORG E BREW ERS DINNER FRI., M AY 3 RD ECIAL! Y PI Z Z A DA Pizz 2 for as 3 8TH & L, ON THE S EAV IEW BEAC H APPROAC H 3 60-642-7880 SP S 503.325.7414 bakedak.com #1 12th Street, Astoria, OR ROUGH day on the course? Make it up to yourself— Score a Friday Night Dinner Special! 503.755.1818 www.camp18restaurant.com Favorite stop to & from the Coast 503.325.7414 bakedak.com #1 12th Street, Astoria, OR Seaside 451 Ave U Golf Seaside Course 503-738-5261 seasidegolfcourse@gmail.com T here are more than 2,700 different spe- cies of terrestrial worms; they are among the most common and wide- spread organisms on the planet. Lowly but pervasive, slow moving but prolifi c, they inhabit every continent save Antarctica, squirming and undulating their way through all types of soil, whether sandy or silt. A delight to birds, farm- ers and fi shermen world- wide, earthworms are most active and noticeable in the spring, when the moisture content of the soil equalizes, creating an environment that is neither too dry nor too wet. Burrowing through the dirt, they aerate and mix the layers of soil, consuming their weight in food each day. What they leave behind as waste, called worm “cast- ings,” are tiny water-solu- Continued from Page 4 environment and heritage of the area. “I really did love it,” he said. He would have liked to stay on the commission lon- ger had he not been diag- nosed with Parkinson’s disease. A new stage His condition and a chance encounter with an old friend led him to a new stage of life. His friend, Deborah O’Brien, had been prac- ticing Reiki for 20 years, and Huhtala found that her treatments greatly improved his symptoms. ble pellets containing more nutrients and benefi cial bac- teria than any other form of fertilizer, making them highly prized by gardeners. A single tablespoon of cast- ings can nourish a large pot- ted plant for several months. Slender and cylindri- cal, with a taper at each end, earthworms vary in size and color, with the lon- gest known species mea- suring almost 10 feet. One rare specimen, indigenous to the Palouse river region of Washington state, grows 12 inches long and is albino in complexion, earning it the nickname, Great White Worm. Though there are more than 180 species in North America, at least 60 were introduced from the Old World, arriving to the con- tinent during the days of exploration and conquest, fi rst from the soil used as ballast in ships, and later as stowaways in the horti- cultural trade. One acre of soil can contain one mil- lion earthworms. The most recognizable species, and the one most likely to inhabit your own yard, is the European earthworm, known in the U.S. as the “nightcrawler.” Strong and quick to adapt, it can eas- ily outcompete most native earthworms and in some regions is considered an invasive pest. Though lacking true eyes, earthworms do have light-sensitive receptors, which alert these nocturnal eaters to retreat deep in the soil at daybreak. Only one hour in the sunlight can par- alyze a worm, making it an easy catch for any prover- bial early bird that may be standing by. Seemingly simple, earth- worms have long been con- sidered vital to the planet at large. The biologist Charles Darwin thought them so important that he spent 44 years documenting their behavior, putting every last detail in a page-turn- ing tome for the ages called “The Formation of Vege- table Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Hab- its.” Instantly popular, it sold thousands of copies within weeks of publication and inspired fan mail for years afterward. CW He believes Reiki saved his life and turned it around. He also found that spending time in the for- est helps with his symp- toms. Huhtala is now a Reiki practitioner as well. He and O’Brien, who are now married, have a prac- tice in Tigard called Holy Love Reiki. Huhtala is planning to write a book on Reiki and Parkinson’s, as well as another memoir covering the periods of his life that weren’t included in Whis- pered Echoes, such as the story of starting his fi rst nonprofi t, House of Many Ways, in Astoria with then- wife Rita Brown in the early 1970s. The nonprof- it’s goal was to help people “at loose ends” in the wake of the Vietnam War, pri- marily through a food-buy- ing club that bought healthy foods in bulk in Portland for distribution in Astoria. ”Whispered Echoes” is at Powell’s and Amazon. com. The Kindle edition will be free on Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28. The paperback edition will also be available to pur- chase at The Sage Center for Wholeness & Health in Beaverton during the fi rst Saturday Metaphysical Nat- ural Healing Fair, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 4. CW