Opinion / Columns
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An ode to Mother Nature
I am sitting at my office peering at the Three Sisters peeking through the trees surrounded by soft blankets of blushed pink and wisps of orange cream sunsetting on their peaks. I have a lot... — Updated 5/7/2024 Full story
Can a landlord charge for nail holes?
Dear Property Guy: We recently moved out of an apartment and the management company charged us over $500 for holes in the walls. Which not only seems unfair, but totally unreasonable for the work that was done. We had a few pictures and a TV... — Updated 5/7/2024 Full story
Bull by Bull
• The first time I fell into the cyberworld abyss was when I was planning a horse camping trip with a couple of horsewomen, long years ago. While we were going over our to-do lists, Carol offered to check “Craig’s list,” to which I asked i... — Updated 5/7/2024 Full story
Thoughts on immigration
An aging American workforce, along with a declining U.S. birthrate, makes the U.S. economy increasingly dependent on foreign-born workers to bridge the employment-labor gap and to finance programs such as Social Security. In 2006,... — Updated 5/7/2024 Full story
Stars over Sisters
As we're finally starting to see temperatures rise and clearing skies become more frequent, there are a few celestial sights you should look for during your nightly stargazing this spring.... — Updated 4/30/2024 Full story
What I saw
Smoke curls around the knees of the ponderosa trees. It's just a prescribed burn, nothing to worry about, but it sets my nervous system a-twangling. I'm reminded of the Milli Fire in 2017,... — Updated 4/30/2024 Full story
Consider the lion
The first time I heard a mountain lion scream I was standing in the horse barn at Soldier Meadows Ranch, Nevada. The barn was made of stone stacked by members of the U.S. Cavalry who had... — Updated 4/30/2024 Full story
Sisters Country birds
As the smallest bird in North America, and the smallest long distance migrating bird in the world, the Calliope Hummingbird's [Selasphorus calliope] migration of 5,000 miles from southern... — Updated 4/23/2024 Full story
Places Warm & Creative
Not long ago, I sat on a beach. I was warm - too warm, actually, quite hot - so I took a dip in the wide, thunderous ocean. With my family, I navigated the cobbled streets of a beautiful... — Updated 4/9/2024 Full story
Introducing the Table Top Games Club
A couple weeks ago, I called up Rick Kroytz, counselor and mentorship facilitator at Sisters High School, and asked if he knew of any students I could interview about the local hobby-gaming... — Updated 4/2/2024 Full story
Going crazy to stay sane
I woke up Sunday morning on fire to fish the March Brown mayfly hatch on the lower McKenzie River - just a few miles from Springfield. Yes, this spot is about 100 miles from Sisters. Yes, it... — Updated 4/2/2024 Full story
Sisters Country birds
The most colorful of all our ducks, the Wood Duck [Aix sponsa], lives and breeds in swampy forested areas. Acorns are a favorite food along with other seeds, salamanders, aquatic insects,... — Updated 3/26/2024 Full story
Scottie-dog puppy love
We brought them home in a snowstorm. They were half wild. At 15 weeks, they were the last dogs for a Scottie breeding kennel to sell, of his 30 puppies bred in 2023. It was obvious that these two brindle boys were not popular with the... — Updated 3/26/2024 Full story
The trouble with STRs
Living in a place like Sisters, we can all appreciate how visitors are drawn to its natural beauty, recreational activities, and small town charm. And there’s no arguing that tourists provide a healthy livelihood for many local b... — Updated 3/26/2024 Full story
Stars over Sisters
Though currently on the wane, winter will hang around for another three weeks after March bursts on the scene before yielding to a brand-new season before month's end. To highlight this... — Updated 3/19/2024 Full story
Make better decisions
Buying a piece of custom furniture seems like one of those adult rites of passage. In the latter half of my 30s, I have decided to pursue my first custom piece — a couch. Throughout my n... — Updated 3/12/2024 Full story
Page by Paige
Are you looking for a nonfiction book to read in 2024? "Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming" by Ava Chin might suit you. What does one single building i... — Updated 3/12/2024 Full story
Dear Property Guy: Help… Tenant's dog trashed the carpet
Dear Property Guy: I recently had a tenant move out and need to know how to handle their security deposit. We had brand new carpet when they moved in, and their dog absolutely trashed it. We tried to clean it, but the stink is impossible to... — Updated 3/5/2024 Full story
Games are fun
In a previous article, I explained that games rely on both human and system factors, an observation I take from “Characteristics of Games,” an introduction to games by world-renowned designers Richard Garfield, Skaff Elias, and Robert Gut... — Updated 3/5/2024 Full story
Dark Mornings
When I was a little girl, I watched my older brother trudge up our driveway in the black of night. My mom was making breakfast; my brother carried a flashlight. Peering up over the kitchen... — Updated 2/27/2024 Full story
Please excuse the messes
People often ask me if winter is a slow season for the Forest Service. The days are often less urgent, without wildfire response, but there is always much to be done. Winter is when the bulk... — Updated 2/27/2024 Full story
The best we can do
Thank God. I’m not too old to run for president. Even though yesterday I had trouble remembering which seven pills I needed to take. The day before, I couldn’t find my car keys. A week ago, i... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story
Tracking across Sisters Country
Oh, wow - what's that print? I'm sure you've had that same reaction numerous times when encountering animal tracks. "What is it?" is the most obvious question to ask upon seeing tracks in... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story
9 Ways to Gain Media Coverage
“How do I get featured in the media?” It’s a question I hear a lot. Business owners, nonprofits, event producers, entrepreneurs, artists: they all ask. The answers reflect my exper... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story
An introduction to hobby games
My last couple of articles covered a bit of game theory and theory of knowledge. While I expect those will be recurrent topics, my main goal with the column is to report on the local scene, and so I’ll limit my technical forays to a fraction... — Updated 2/13/2024 Full story
