Polk County Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 13, 2016 9A
Five berry shrubs to feed winter birds
When winter comes and
the menu for birds shrinks in
urban backyards, they rely
on the kindness of humans.
That doesn’t mean just a
bird feeder of seeds and
nuts.
“Different birds are at-
tracted to different foods
and it’s good to have a vari-
ety,” said Dana Sanchez, a
wildlife specialist for Oregon
State University’s Extension
Service. “In addition to bird
feeders, which people some-
times forget to fill, they need
plants to forage on.”
This time of year, you’ll
notice winter wrens, pine
siskins, scrub jays, chick-
adees and robins. All are
searching for food to give
them the energy they need
to survive the prolonged
stress of cold and wet
weather.
“Birds need a lot of energy
to make it through cold
n i g h t s ,” a c c o r d i n g t o
Sanchez. “They can’t eat dur-
ing the night and they burn
off whatever food calories
they found during the day.”
Fortunately, birds have
feathers — the ultimate
down jacket, she said. They
fluff them and huddle to-
gether to reduce heat loss.
And shivering keeps muscles
warmer. For all that, they still
need the right foods for en-
ergy production. A few in-
sects remain, flying around
Grimsbo
K YM
P OKORNY
Brailyn Ann Grimsbo was born to Zach Grimsbo and
Chelsey Hedman, of Sheridan, at 12:09 p.m. on Dec. 23 at
Salem Hospital Family Birth Center.
She weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 18.75 inch-
es long.
Brailyn joins Braxton, 2.
Grandparents are Jacque Wilson, of Lexington, Tim
Hedman, of Heppner, and Steve and Kristina Grimsbo, of
Rickreall.
Your
Garden
or hiding under moss and
lichen ripe for the picking.
Some plants, like thistle,
hold on to seeds that birds fit
into their diet. Plants with
berries full of good fat pro-
vide necessary nutrients,
too. Take a look at Sanchez’s
suggestions and consider
adding some berry bearers
to your garden.
Dana Sanchez’s picks for
plants with berries for birds:
Oregon grape (Mahonia
aquifolium) breaks out in
brilliant yellow flowers in
mid-winter that leave be-
hind bunches of blue-black
berries. The state flower of
Oregon grows to an erect 6
feet tall and 5 feet wide.
Hardy to Zone 5.
Beautyberry (Callicarpa
bodinieri) was named for a
reason: The exquisite violet
to purple berries in mid-
winter stop people in their
tracks. This shrub puts on a
good display at the back of
the border where its 6-by-6-
foot stature has room to de-
velop. The cultivar “Profu-
sion” exhibits an especially
abundant amount of berries.
Hardy to Zone 5.
Leiker
Photo by chapstickaddict
The purple berries of beautyberry ofer sustenance to
birds in winter when they need extra energy to survive
cold weather.
Snowberry (Symphoricar-
pos albus) is recognized for
distinctive clusters of white
berries that last well into
winter. At 5-feet tall and 6-
feet wide and rather rangy,
snowberry makes a great
choice for a bird-friendly
hedgerow, and its vigorous
roots will help with erosion
control on slopes. Hardy to
Zone 3.
Himalayan honeysuckle
(Leycesteria formosa) takes
some room to accommodate
its 6-foot height and width,
but it’s more than worth the
space. Long inflorescences
of white flowers with purple
bracts hang from the shrub
for an extended time in sum-
mer and fall and are fol-
lowed by berries that start
out green, turn deep red and
then purplish black with all
three colors on the plant at
once. Hardy to Zone 6.
Pacific wax myrtle (Myri-
ca californica) is an ever-
green that grows up to 30
feet at maturity, making it a
popular option for a screen
or small tree in the garden. A
Pacific Northwest native,
wax myrtle presents purplish
berries in fall that persist
into the winter months.
Hardy to Zone 7.
MI TOWN
We’re deep into winter in
MI Town and it seems like
springtime is a distant fu-
ture dream. It’s hard to think
about sunshine and flowers
and seed catalogues when
there’s a constant cleaning
up of muddy footprints
from spouses, children and
pets; and the coat closet has
a lingering scent from wet
wool coats and jackets.
Streets and sidewalks can be
slippery from early morning
frost and occasional icy
patches, so take care when
walking or driving.
—
Our local mayors and city
councilors are looking for-
ward to the challenges and
opportunities of this up-
coming year. Mayors John
McArdle of Independence
and John Oberst of Mon-
mouth will preside at the
State of the Cities annual
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
address this evening from
6:30 to 8:30 in the Columbia
Room in the Werner Center,
located on the WOU campus
in Monmouth. There is no
charge for this event, and
everyone is welcome to at-
tend. Parking is available in
lots H or F, and no permit is
required for this event.
—
Students are busy with
school activities and winter
sports. It’s always a lot of fun
to attend the various games
and events, and to cheer for
our children and those of
our friends and neighbors.
It’s easy to catch enthusiasm
and energy from just being
around younger people. As
always, our local schools are
eager for volunteers in all
their programs, and it’s an-
other great way to chase
away those midwinter blues.
—
Winter term has begun
for Western Oregon Univer-
sity students and the calen-
dar is full of ongoing events
and classes for everyone.
The campus is buzzing with
new voices and the return of
familiar students who are
eager to get involved with
school and social activities.
MI Town residents have an
excellent opportunity to
meet students from all over
the world and to help them
feel welcome in our com-
munity. Language barriers
all but disappear when peo-
ple take the time to listen
and try to understand one
another. Many of our inter-
national students have
never been far away from
the countries they call
home. We all have the op-
portunity to learn so much
about cities and countries
that are half a world away,
and to also share informa-
tion with students and oth-
ers who are new to MI Town.
—
Even though we are get-
ting a few minutes more
daylight every week, it’s good
to remember to use car and
bicycle lights, so we can see
— and be seen — as we trav-
el. For those of us walking or
riding bikes, please remem-
ber to wear light clothing
and attach reflective tape to
our coats and jackets, and
carry a flashlight on these
dark and rainy winter days
and nights.
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
Judy Guida returned
from over two weeks in
Houston, where she visited
her son John, wife Gina,
and their family, her son
Tony, and Sam’s brother Joe
for the holidays. While
there, they took a mini-va-
cation to San Antonio, stay-
ing at the Menger Hotel,
built across the street from
the Alamo just 20 years
after the 1836 battle at that
famous mission. The
Menger is known as the
most haunted hotel in
Texas, although Judy didn’t
see any ghosts. She also
went to Willie Nelson’s Fam-
ily and Friends concert in
Austin. John and Gina’s kids
Adrianna, Adrian,
Neko, Samuel, Tristan,
Layla, and Josie were sorry
to see her leave.
—
While Judy was gone,
Marcos Lopez was taking
care of her place. One day
he left his pickup at the
house and a large tree limb
came down in a windstorm
and crushed the cab. That
was bad for him, but at least
it didn’t catch the house
Blover Katrece Leiker was born to James Canaday and
Kassi Leiker, of Independence, at 10:08 p.m. on Dec. 30 at
Salem Hospital Family Birth Center.
She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 20.75 inches
long.
Clover joins Hannah, 11, Ceanha, 10, Nicholas, 8, Jay-
den, 5, and Ledger, 4.
Grandparents are Kimberly Leiker, of Dallas, and Sherri
Hallfon, of Renton, Wash.
Great-grandparents are Linda Vanderzanden, of Dallas,
and Virginia Canaday, of Lancaster, Calif.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Continued from page 8A
—
TUESDAY, JAN. 19
• Take Of Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) Club — 6 to 7 p.m.
weigh-in, 7 to 8 p.m. meeting, First Christian Church basement,
1079 SE Jeferson St., Dallas. Meetings ofer programs and activ-
ities aimed at losing weight. Open to anyone. First meeting is
free.
—
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20
• Willamette Valley Food Assistance Program Food Bank
— 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., 888 Monmouth Cutof Road, Building E,
Dallas. Weekly distribution for eligible community members.
503-831-5634.
• Day-2-Day Diabetes Support Group — 3 to 4 p.m., West
Valley Hospital (main conference room inside main entrance),
525 SE Washington St., Dallas. 503-623-7323.
• Bingo at the Farm — 6:30 p.m., Rogue Farms Hopyard,
3590 Wigrich Road, Independence. All ages welcome. Free; food
and beverages available for purchase. 503-838-9813.
• Helping Hands Emergency Food Bank — 10 a.m. to noon,
Monmouth Christian Church, 959 Church St. W., Monmouth. For
eligible community members; available every Wednesday. 541-
404-6517.
• Positive Aging — 10 to 11 a.m. Dallas Senior Center, 955 SE
Jeferson St., Dallas. Explore proactive aging in this presentation
and discussion series led by Sandra Larson & George Furniss.
Drop-ins welcome. Free. 503-623-8554
Call us.
The Itemizer Observer can help
you expand your market share
and make your business more
profitable. Call us at
503-623-2373 and make an appoint-
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Advertising Consultants,
PEDEE NEWS
We recently learned that
Glady Trosen, widow of for-
mer pastor of Pedee Church
Rev. Robert Trosen, died on
Thursday, December 24,
2015. Before coming to
Pedee in the seven years
from 1985-1992, Pastor and
Mrs. Trosen were the first
Evangelical missionaries in
Bolivia, then served many
terms as superintendent of
the North Central Confer-
ence of the church. Most re-
cently they were members
of the Park Place Church in
Portland. They were a
much-loved couple in our
community. Glady celebrat-
ed her 90th birthday in No-
vember.
—
BIRTHS
Heidi, Rachel or Karen
three feet away.
—
Pedee activities have got-
ten into full swing with the
New Year. The Women’s Club
is back to meeting
every Wednesday from 10
a.m. till about 2; the Thurs-
day family night at Pedee
Church is again meeting,
with a potluck dinner at 6
p.m. and activities after-
ward; and the Kings Valley
coffee shop at the old
church is going strong on
Saturdays from 10 till 2. That
last is a great place to get
breakfast on Saturdays as
they have delicious cinna-
mon rolls and other goodies,
all made by Diana Barnhart,
for sale.
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