The Nugget Newspaper's Home & Garden 2019 // 2019-05-08

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

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H e & Garden RY T N U O C S R E IN SIST

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Old Man Winter took a late shot at Sisters Country, dumping record snows on us and lingering with gray skies and chilly weather.

Now the sun is shining, temperatures are warming and Mother Nature is stretching out toward spring.

Are we ready to go? Time to get the yard in shape; time to launch that home project; time to stop thinking and start doing.

Fortunately, you have a lot of resources to lend a hand. Skilled crews are standing ready to help you get your landscape in shape, to haul off the debris and detritus left by that

big old winter storm, and bring on the green. Designers and contractors are ready to help you create new space or restore and make the most of the space you have.

Dedicated service professionals and skilled tradesmen can help you make your home safer, more functional, more livable — and more beautiful.

There’s no end to the talent and experience available in Sisters. They can get your work done or help you do it yourself.

Rent the tools for the job or hire folks who have the best equipment and the expertise to make living well in Sisters more than a dream.

MAHONIA GARDENS Mahonia Gardens is a one-acre market garden and CSA farm operating in Sisters, dedicated to growing quality produce.

They primarily cultivate in four-foot-wide intensive, permanent beds. Most labor on the farm is done by hand, using broadforks and digging forks to create and maintain beds. While they are not certified organic, they use absolutely no harmful chemicals in production—no pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers or anything.

Mahonia Gardens grows around 40 vegetable crops including: beets, carrots, turnips, onion, potatoes, garlic, radishes, sunchokes, broccoli, cabbage, napa cabbage, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, eggplant, kale, chard, parsley, cilantro, salad mix (baby kale, radicchio, baby chard, arugula, spinach, lettuce, mustard), and more.

Their produce can be found at Sisters Farmers Market, at Melvins — and soon at a 24/7 self-serve

farmstand on Adams Avenue. Their goal is to make their produce as accessible as possible so as to sell all of their production to consumers in Sisters.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

Wildlife management without poison

By Jim Anderson Correspondent

Last week The Nugget ran the story Susan Prince and I put together on the rash of poison stations that have popped up in Sisters Country. In that light, Kathy Deggendorfer contacted me for stating one of them was on her Pine Meadow Ranch property.

Turns out I was close, but not close enough to get the brass ring; the poison bait station in question was on the irrigated portion of Pine Meadow Village and neither Kathy, Susan, nor I have any idea how it got there.

So, what are alternatives to poison to eliminating wildlife from places they’re not wanted? Unfortunately, every one of them is labor-intensive; that’s what makes poison so popular.

You’ll come down to live or dead trapping. The most popular instrument for dead trapping is the snap-trap or jawed trap. Victor makes several models for several sizes of victims: large traps for rats and ground squirrels and smaller ones for mice and small rodents. Peanut butter is

excellent bait, but sometimes popped popcorn works, plain old butter, cheese and some people favor cauliflower and/ or even sliced bread.

Sherman makes live traps used by researchers worldwide that are ideal for mammals from mice to ground squirrels, as does Have-aHart. The latter has sizes for catching feral cats, skunks, and even raccoons.

If you’re going to go after those pestiferous animals that do damage to your property, or leave behind droppings you’d rather not have underfoot, snap-trapping will work, but if there are fleas on the victim they’ll leave as soon as they cool off; be mindful of that.

The best way to dispose of them is placing the trap and dead critter in a plastic bag. Keep the bag closed and release the victim from the trap, then take out the trap quickly, watching for fleas trying to escape. Bury the victims well away from your domicile, where your house pet can not find and dig it/ them up. This entire process should be done while wearing plastic gloves, which should

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be disposed of correctly along with the plastic bag.

If you have an excess of chipmunks you can live-trap them easily and then take them to the various BLM wildlife areas and release them. I paid my grandsons to live-trap my surplus chipmunks and it worked slicker than snot-on-a-door-knob.

Now, what about a skunk?

That can be very messy if you decide to go after them with a snap or jawed trap. It would be best to use a medium-sized Have-a-Hart and a nice fresh piece of Col. Sanders chicken for bait.

When the skunk is in the trap, move around it slowly and politely. Cover it with a big towel (one you don’t need anymore), leaving the trap carrying handle accessible.

Using caution you can move it into a box, then place said box in the back of an open-air pickup and take it a few miles away into a quiet area of no homes or people traffic.

After placing the trap out in the open, get close enough to release the animal with the aid of a long stiff wire or stick.

I usually smile at the skunk as it ambles off.

Relocated western spotted skunk.

PHOTO BY JIM ANDERSON

I’ve been using this method for over 60 years and while doing so have never been sprayed by spotted or striped skunks.

That said, in 1957 I got the full blast from a male spotted skunk, but it was because I picked up the live trap with the skunk in it, thinking the animal was one I had descented a week or so before.

You can’t judge a skunk by its cover.

According to ODFW, killing Oregon squirrels is legal (all except golden mantled ground squirrels and chipmunks) because they are considered sport game. Ground

squirrels can be forced to leave by gassing or flooding the tunnels where they live. Any creatures that are not killed during this process will find their habitat undesirable and hopefully move away.

Be sure to go to: https:// squirrelsrefuge.org/law.html and read what the law says about handling Oregon and Washington state wildlife.

If you want to talk trapping or changing the course of your role with that of your wildlife neighbor(s), drop me an email at jimnaturalist@gmail.com.

But please, get rid of the blasted poison.

DRAINFIELD RESTORATION It’s a moment to dread: Your drainfield is failing.

Replacing it and tearing up your yard is dauntingly expensive, running into the thousands of dollars.

But what if you could restore your drainfield without replacing it?

Turn to Drainfield Restoration. As Central Oregon’s only factory-trained Terralift operator, they can restore your drainfield for a fraction of the cost of replacement. Drainfield Restoration blasts air into the soil, breaking up biomat and compaction, restoring the soil’s original leaching capacity.

They can also jet inside lines and remove tree roots that are often the culprit in drainfield problems in Sisters Country.

It’s a one-day project — and it works for years.

In business since 1995, Drainfield Restoration has saved clients thousands of dollars across the state of Oregon. For tips on restoration and care of your septic system, visit www.RestoreYourSeptic.com.

ALL YOU NEED MAINTENANCE & REPAIR Winter was rough on Sisters, and it left a whole lot of chores to be done. Not to mention all of those projects you’ve been meaning to tackle for months or even years.

But you’d really like to enjoy the sunny days of spring instead of working on the house and yard.

What to do? Call All You Need Maintenance & Repair (AYN). Let AYN handle the work, while you sit back and enjoy all of the excellence Central Oregon has to offer.

AYN is a small locally owned family company in Sisters. They proudly serve the whole Sisters area.

From a simple roof blow, to a gorgeous brick walkway, the goal of AYN is always customer satisfaction. Their crews are the hardest working folks

around which allows them to offer exceptional service. They offer fair competitive pricing, free estimates and they stand behind every job.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

The Bunkhouse Chronicle Craig Rullman Columnist

Listening to the Bees In the voluminous lore and literature of beekeeping there is a tradition known as “Telling the Bees.” The basic premise is that bees appreciate a good conversation, don’t welcome surprises, and failure to properly communicate with the hive can end badly for all involved. There is even a religious aspect to the notion, as cultures across the planet have adopted the notion of bees as messengers between the supernatural and our lowly, pedestrian selves.

Last year, I began beekeeping. I went to school to learn something about bees, bee breeds, bee diseases, bee doctoring, the life of the hive, and the various do’s and don’ts of building and

maintaining a healthy colony of bees. This was partly a gigantic virtue signal, a response to the appalling condition of our world’s bees, but also a vigorous and sincere attempt to learn something new and to develop additional intimacy with the details of our life.

In the beginning I worked with our bees wearing a suit, one of those gangly, half butterfly-catcher, half-astronaut beekeeping costumes.

As a rank amateur I felt the suit was a wise precaution, because I have also made it a life’s work to remain off the considerable rolls of life’s cautionary tales.

But the suit is its own problem. It’s hot, for one thing, like wearing a buffalo robe in a steambath, and similarly awkward. And what I learned, as I started working around the hive, was that the bees responded directly to my own behavior. I found myself talking to the bees in a kind of beatnik streamof-consciousness routine.

Pulling out a frame to inspect the condition of the queen, or of the brood, I would talk to them the same way I talk to a froggy colt, or a dog gone nervous in a thunderstorm.

Later, I would take my chair outside and sit next to the frame, watching the bees

fly in with their hind legs covered in magnificent blue and red pollens, and talk to them about their day. If the bees joined our conversation it was in the energy they returned, and if there is something to Telling the Bees I think that is exactly the reward: an energy payback that soothes the body and mind.

When I realized this I stopped wearing the suit. And I’ve yet to be stung, even when pulling up the frames for inspection, or dropping a patty of Api-Guard inside to help in the on-going war against varroa mites.

But there is another story that is probably more important than telling bees how we feel, or in one ancient tradition, draping the hive in black cloth to inform them of a death in the family. In this other story, I think, it is far more important that we shut our mouths and start listening to what the bees are telling us.

Only about 50 percent of bees survive the winter.

That’s true regardless of the climate or the skill and experience of the beekeepers.

The reasons vary: poisoned by neonicitinoids that are sprayed on commercial flowers, infestion by varroa mites, or any number of diseases

endemic in bee populations.

Another huge problem is the seemingly bottomless behavior of human beings, as in a recent case in Texas, where half–a-million bees were destroyed by somebody who dumped the hives and then burned them. Or another from last month down in Redding, when somebody in a truck ran up and down both sides of a road and smashed 85 beehives, apparently for a laugh.

This sort of thing probably shouldn’t surprise anyone. And Wendell Berry probably said it best: “Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.” Best guesses indicate that at the present rate, even without the jackassery of human beings intentionally destroying beehives, managed honeybees are likely to disappear by 2035. That’s in keeping with what scientists are calling the “6th Mass Extinction Event.”

Today, in order for bees to do their indispensible part in the California almond harvest, it takes nearly every available bee in the United States. America’s beekeepers are doing their best to keep bees alive for that reason, and others, but even the honey market has been hijacked by unethical

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Chinese businessmen who dilute their honey with syrups and then dump their products on unsuspecting American consumers.

There are allegedly laws to prevent this, but enforcement is poor, and a country that can’t stop 100,000 human beings from crossing its border every month probably can’t do much about jars of bogus honey either.

So the problems mount up, and ignorance and widespread pesticide use and colony collapse disorder march on unabated.

Our bees didn’t make it through the winter. Way back in February we had a day warm enough that I could open the hive and check on them. They were alive then.

A few weeks later, when it was warm enough to check again, they were dead. All of them. There was a deep mound of dead bees near the entrance, where the last survivors had hauled the dead and dying out of the hive in a fight to keep it clean for the queen inside.

But here on the Figure 8 we don’t give up so easy.

This year I’m doubling down, and we will bring two new colonies on board in the next week. And I look forward to another summer of telling, but mostly listening to, the bees.

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This is the time of year when home and landscape projects are at the forefront of our minds. While you’re thinking about home improvement, you’d best remember your homeowners insurance policy.

Is that greenhouse you are so proud of properly insured? Have you added all your upgrades to your deck and fencing and other improvements been updated in your homeowners insurance policy?

Farmers Insurance offers free review of your homeowners insurance policy once a year and they recommend that you do it at least every couple of years. That way, you can keep abreast of new products and make sure that everything you’ve done ot add value to your home is properly protected.

“People who don’t do it, I guarantee they’re overpaying or not covered correctly,” says Jason Rybka of Sisters Farmers Insurance.

Make sure you have the right protection and that it’s updated regularly. Call Farmers Insurance in Sisters.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

Fire district pilots national safety campaign in schools The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District was selected by the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal’s Office to participate in a pilot program called “Sound Off.” The Sound Off program includes three fire safety lessons that were developed for students in second and third grade. Topics include smoke alarms and how they work, hunting for fire hazards in the home, and escape planning. The unique part of this program is that students perform a safety survey of their own home with their family, and if issues are found with their smoke alarms, the Fire District will install new ones free of charge.

Six Fire District volunteers started the program in Sisters before spring break, and have visited secondand third-graders at Sisters Christian Academy, Black Butte School, and Sisters Elementary School. Total children contacted through this program since March 2019 is 167. Because this is a pilot program, a preand post-test will be used to show what the children have learned, and results

will be shared with program developers.

The Sound Off program was developed by a company called Young Minds Inspired, in conjunction with the Center for National Prevention Initiatives at Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI). This is the third year that MPHI has received grant funding through a FEMA Fire Prevention Safety Grant, and Oregon is the 10th state to pilot the program.

The goal of this program is to ensure that every family has working smoke alarms in their home and understands the need and importance of a home fire escape plan. Fire Safety Manager Doug Green said, “Working smoke alarms give families critical extra time to put their escape plan into action and safely exit the home. Even 40+ years after the introduction of the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101), requiring smoke alarms to be installed in every home, a large segment of the population lives with too few or no working smoke alarms. The Sound Off program is another tool in our toolbox to try and increase the percentage of

PHOTO PROVIDED

Sisters firefighters visited with students at Sisters Christian Academy to promote home safety, including smoke alarm installation, fire hazards in the home, and family escape plans. homes with working smoke alarms in Sisters Country.”

Gretchen Lane, secondgrade teacher at Sisters Elementary School said, “The Sound Off fire safety program provided valuable information to both students, parents, and staff alike. The lessons were engaging, interactive, and informative, providing good practice and a

stronger knowledge base of fire prevention, smoke alarms and home escape plans. The home connection allowed for parents to be involved in their students’ learning, helping to test their home equipment and talking with them about these important life lessons.

“I personally experienced the home connection piece of this program with my family

as well. The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District visited my home and installed the proper number of smoke alarms to keep my family safe. Only working smoke alarms can protect the ones you love, and I feel fortunate to live in a community who offers such a valuable outreach program to the schools!”

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Jenalee is a true native Oregonian, with a passion for the outdoors, and is deeply involved in the community of Sisters.

“My joy comes from assisting people in seeing

their home ownership dreams become a reality,” she says. “No matter what step they’re at in the process, it’s about the relationship and seeing them across that finish line.”

ACTION AIR Action Air is a local, family-owned-and-operated company. That means customers are neighbors and friends, a relationship they take seriously. For Action Air, honesty is much more important than the bottom line.

“We don’t sell anything that we don’t believe in,” says Chris Gulick. “And we don’t sell anything that you don’t need.”

Action Air will give you all the information you need to find the best air conditioner, heat pump or gas furnace — equipment that is right for you and your home or business. Call Action Air to learn more about possible energy savings or to learn more about energy efficiency ratings and ways to cut your

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

Of a certain

AGE Sue Stafford Columnist

I feel the most whole, centered, and peaceful when I am out in my yard. The constant chatter in my mind is stilled, the to-do lists fall away, and my focus narrows in on the wondrous marvels of nature that occur each season, whether I am paying attention or not.

My move to Sisters 15 years ago this month came at a time when I had been immersed in tending my garden in Kirkland, Washington, where everything grows easily and profusely.

Upon arrival at my new home, with the bare bones of a yard, mainly lawn and ponderosa pine trees, my enthusiastic gardener-self tackled the new challenge with great enthusiasm. I ripped up sections of lawn and established

new perennial beds full of iris, lilies, delphiniums, lavender, native grasses and scented geraniums.

I planted aspens, autumn blaze maples, vine maples, flowering crabapples and a paper-bark birch. For the first eight or nine years, my garden brought me tremendous pleasure. I could spend entire days weeding, transplanting, pruning — tending nature’s gifts.

Of course, the deer were constant competitors for tender green shoots and colorful blooms. Deer fencing and spraying foliage with repellent helped moderate their carnage. Additionally, I have been fortunate over the years to have several very capable gardeners to help with spring and fall cleanups, but dwindling finances have kept their visits to a minimum of late.

With less help, more years on my body, and less ability to devote long hours, all the results of my devotion and care of the yard have slowly faded away. The birch appears to be dying, after reaching 30 feet in height. Last year some critter worked its way through a perennial bed, decimating all the flowers (they just disappeared) and devouring a majority of the roots on my favorite crabapple tree, which fell over with no anchor to

hold it upright.

The deer fencing had to be replaced every couple of years and I finally said “uncle” and just removed it.

Consequently, I surrendered most of the remaining perennials and shrubs to the fourfooteds. The iris, lavender, Lydia broom, and grasses have survived because they aren’t high on the menu of local deer.

Last summer I spent almost no time in the yard, simply despairing and feeling defeated when I looked out on it. Besides, I had kept myself overly busy with the launch of a new organization and didn’t have time to spend in the yard.

As I’ve mentioned in an earlier column, circumstances have conspired to encourage me to slow down, reduce my responsibilities, and focus on what is important in my life.

Relationships with longtime friends and family have taken on a new immediacy.

Quiet time to reflect on my life and what I want to do with the years left has given rise to a sense of peace. I feel a release of “shoulds” and “oughts” and “musts.” My thoughts have slowed down. The hustle is gone out of my daily routine. My breath is slower and deeper. My sleep is sounder

and more restorative. The piles of clutter are shrinking and, with each bag of recycled papers, I feel a release and lightening in my spirit.

The sudden burst of rejuvenating spring weather is perfectly timed with doors and windows thrown open wide. Each morning brings more green to the branches and shoots reaching toward the warming sun. The birds greet each new day, hopping from branch to branch, chirping to announce the reprieve from a long, hard winter.

I, too, am a tender shoot growing toward the sunlight.

I have just finished having a thorough clean-up done in time for the annual spring yard waste collection this week. As I have relinquished

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a busy schedule, my enthusiasm for gardening has returned and I am eager to put shovel to soil and thoughtfully restore the barren flower beds — perhaps with hardier, deer-resistant stock and fewer expectations.

I know from years of my own experience, and that of my clients, that time spent connecting to the earth promotes a feeling of well-being laced with gratitude, hope, and a sense of place.

Take the time to feel the sun on your shoulders, listen to the birds chirping, and nurture a living thing, be it a simple flower in a pot or a yard bursting with new life.

If you nurture nature, she will nurture you. We are all seeds stirring to live.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

Make sure your home is properly insured

By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief

PHOTO BY CONRAD WEILER

Volunteers cleaned up the one-acre property of an elderly Sisters couple last week.

Locals rally for spring clean-up

By Conrad Weiler Correspondent

Jeff (89) and Fay (87) Harding have lived in Sage Woods for 27 years. They are former Sisters Athletic Club (SAC) members and participated in the Q Club (Quality Club) at SAC. Jeff’s health has been declining and Q Club members Jeff Reynolds, Bruce Barnes, Bob Hammond and others have helped with medical visits and other needs for the Hardings.

At this time of year, garden work and cleanup becomes necessary. Q Club members decided to volunteer cleaning up the one-acre Harding homesite.

Jeff Reynolds took charge of setting

up times for garden work to be done.

Folks brought rakes, wheelbarrows, and other equipment to work cleaning up the Harding’s acre.

The cleanup started on Thursday, May 2, after the Q Club class finished at SAC. The next few days saw burning of plant needles and other plant material until all was finished.

The Q Club workout at SAC includes 30 minutes on spin bikes followed by 30 minutes of weights, balance, and other health exercises. Jeff and Fay Harding did well in the class and benefited not only with healthy exercise but from the many friends they have made — who have not forgotten their workout buddies at spring cleaning time.

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For most families, their home is their most significant asset. More importantly, it is, well, their home — a place of refuge, a place where memories reside.

It’s critical to make sure your home is property insured. In a landscape that offers many threats, you can’t rely on Federal catastrophe grants to rebuild a home.

Jason Rybka of Farmers Insurance recommends regular reviews of your homeowners insurance policy.

Farmers offers an annual review.

He notes that one critical aspect to be aware of is your settlement options. Check that your policy settles on replacement cost, rather than actual cash value. That will help ensure that you don’t come up short on replacing and repairing damage.

New upgrades to your home — including decking and fencing — should be added to your policy.

Creating defensible space and hardening your home against fire may not show up directly in savings on your homeowners insurance — but your community’s efforts do.

Fire protection classification ratings can affect how much you pay, so the more you and your neighbors do, the

better.

Fire is an obvious threat, but there are plenty of others.

“Hail is one of the biggest ones,” Rybka noted.

Damaging hailstorms, wind, snow, all can wreak havoc and you need to make sure you’re protected.

“Our number-one peril is water,” Rybka said.

A broken pipe can do a lot of damage. External flooding is another matter. Don’t assume that your homeowners insurance policy covers floods; actually flood damage isn’t typically covered by homeowners insurance and may require a separate policy.

Regular reviews of your insurance also helps you keep abreast of new products and programs that can enhance your safety and well-being.

Some carriers offer insurer firefighter protection services (see related story, page 6).

Being proactive brings peace of mind — and ensures that when disaster does strike, your pain and difficulties are not exacerbated by suddenly finding out you are under-insured.

A simple review can save a lot of heartache.

As Rybka notes, “People who don’t do it, I guarantee they’re overpaying or are not covered correctly.”

BLAKE, SON & COMPANY

This is the season when your home is demanding to be cleaned. They don’t call it spring cleaning for nothing, after all.

But you are way too busy to do the job right.

Time to call Blake, Son & Company.

This long-time Sisters service company has a record of working to the highest standard on local folks’ homes, commercial properties, rentals and vacation homes. From window cleaning to entire house-cleanings — including laundry and beds — Blake, Son & Company handles it all just the way you want it.

They stand by their work — especially their window cleaning.

“If it doesn’t look right when you’re looking at it and the light’s coming through, we’re coming back the next day,” says Jeff Blake.

His father Byron started the business 40 years ago, and the old-school values of a job well done by people you can trust is still in play in 2019.

RICHARDSON LOG HOMES Richardson Log Homes builds handcrafted log homes, lodges, cabins, barns and entryways in full scribe or chink style construction. They specialize in using larger diameter, full length logs. The thermal conduction of heat and cooling is superior with bigger logs, comparable to rock or stone. The company sources private land owners who select and cut their trees.

They also do log home inspection, consultation, log home maintenance and restoration.

Log homes connect us to our past. These homes are a tug to the heartstrings of folks today as they were 100 years ago. People want a home that is comfortable and relaxing. They want a home

that is as functional as it is beautiful. They love the richness of the wood, the smell, the way that light shines on the log walls and the ceilings. A log home is a combination of yesterday and today, and it will be around for many tomorrows.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

23

Applying for rental killed my credit

Dear Property Guy

By Mike Zoormajian

Dear Property Guy, With the shortage of decent rentals, I applied to a few places at once. I’ve always had pretty good credit, but the place I really liked refused me for bad credit. What’s going on?

— Mad in Madras Dear Mad: It all starts with FICO, which originally stood for Fair, Isaac, and Company. Now it’s just a number between 300 and 850 that indicates creditworthiness.

Plan on having a FICO score above 620 if you want to rent anything.

A lot of voodoo goes into a FICO score, but one component is the number of “hard inquires.” A hard inquiry is a type of credit check done by mortgage and auto lenders, credit card companies, or (wait for it) landlords. These inquiries

stay on record for two years, and negatively affect it for one year. Each inquiry reduces your score by about 5 points.

All housing-related inquiries within a 45-day period are supposed to be counted as one, but this doesn’t always happen.

So barring a landlord accidentally pulling duplicate inquires (which can happen), I suspect that multiple hard inquiries pulled your score down. Best to pull your own credit report and dig deeper.

A landlord can also do a “soft inquiry.” This provides the same info, but does not negatively affect your credit. That’s why it’s important for renters to ask what sort of credit check is performed before applying.

— Mike Dear Property Guy, I have a rental house with pretty good tenants. They seem to take care of the house, but I have heard horror stories about major damage, and it’s keeping me up at night.

— Concerned in Carlsbad Dear Concerned: The best way to ensure good tenants is to screen hard (yet legally) up front. Right now, it’s time to familiarize yourself with the concept of inspections.

Easiest is the monthly (or

weekly) drive-by. Is the house still there? Landscaping OK? ’87 Chevy up on blocks? These are all clues.

I give a week’s notice, and do an initial 30-day walk through. Looking for lease violations, unsafe or unsanitary conditions, and things that will damage the property. I check appliances, smoke detectors, and ensure nothing’s leaking. I fix most issues on the spot, and folks seem to appreciate the check-in.

After that, I do half-yearly inspections, ensuring the place is set-up for next season. This may mean furnace filters, chimney and gutters clear, or pine needles raked.

Inspections shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s a good opportunity to ensure your tenants are not only taking care of your property, but being taken care of by you.

— Mike Mike Zoormajian is principal at WetDog Properties in Sisters, OR, providing local property management and investor services. Questions, comments to: letters@wetdogpnw.com Free legal advice is worth what you pay for it. Consult a real attorney before doing anything crazy.

PHOTO PROVIDED

The season seems to finally be underway.

Growing short-season vegetables Everybody knows that the growing season in Sisters Country is painfully short. Making the right choice of what to grow increases the chances of success — and the satisfaction of the gardener.

The Central Oregon chapter of OSU Master Gardener will present a free gardening class: Choosing Vegetables For a Short Season Garden twice in May. Gardeners will learn how to choose and propagate seeds that will be successful in our unique growing environment. Class will be held outdoors in the garden, so dress for the weather. The same class will be taught at two community gardens on different dates: • Saturday, May 11, 10 to 11 a.m. at Hollinshead Community Garden at Hollinshead Park; 1235 NE Jones Rd., Bend • Thursday, May 30, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Northwest Crossing Community Garden at Discovery Park, 1315 NW Discovery Drive, Bend.

For more information call 541-548-6088.

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“We use the best products that are out there,” says Travis Starr.

And the use of one small, core crew means your job gets full attention.

“We stay on the job till it’s finished the way we want it and the way the customer wants it,” says Starr.

The same level of quality and attention to detail and service is brought to bear on a multi-million dollar home or a starter home. That level of commitment to excellence means that Riverfront Painting is consistently one of the top-rated Central Oregon companies on Home Advisor.

Riverfront Painting also does full remodels and can construct or repair and refinish decks.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

Identify the problem before treating a struggling plant

By Kym Pokorny Oregon State University Extension Service

CORVALLIS – When youʼve got a plant that looks a little – or a lot – in distress, donʼt start trying to fix it until you know the problem.

It could be a simple glitch like not giving it enough water or putting a sun-loving plant in the shade, said Neil Bell, horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service.

The first line of defense is knowing your plant, its characteristics and needs.

“People assume if a plant changes appearance that itʼs a problem; but it may not be a problem at all,” he said. “It could be an oddball characteristic like a conifer whose foliage changes color in winter.

That always worries people.”

Once youʼve determined it isnʼt just a characteristic of the plant and the plant is getting the sun exposure, water and nutrients it needs, itʼs time to move on to solving the mystery. To do that, ask a series of systematic questions to diagnose and effectively address the cause of the malady.

“Identifying the problem first enables you to go

about fixing the problem in the appropriate way,” Bell said. “Even if your problem is caused by a pest or disease, sometimes a person may choose to use a pesticide, organic or otherwise, but you have to apply it when itʼs going to be effective. How people mess up is applying something thatʼs not needed or apply it when it doesnʼt work. You donʼt want to waste resources on a problem you donʼt have. Sometimes people spray first and ask questions later. It should be the other way around.”

Whether you decide to diagnose your plant woes on your own or use an OSU Extension Master Gardener, the process is the same, according to Brooke Edmunds, horticulturist with OSU Extension. The trained volunteers ask the same questions and require you to come in armed with as much information as you can gather. If you donʼt know what the plant is, theyʼll help identify it and move down the diagnostic process to uncover the trouble.

“Sometimes people donʼt know what to look for,” she said. “People notice symptoms

SISTERS RENTAL Why go anywhere else in Central Oregon for your lawn mower needs? Or any equipment need, for that matter?

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Sisters Rental services any and all equipment lines, with parts in stock and three full-time mechanics to ensure that your mower or trimmer doesn’t sit idle while spring runs away with you.

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of the plant and their eyes go right to that issue. They may see a tree with leaves that are wilting so they bring in the leaves and thatʼs not the issue at all. You have to look at that tree holistically. Follow it down from twig to branch to trunk to roots. The real problem may be somewhere else on the tree. Sometimes we send people back to do a walk around the tree.”

Edmunds said about 30 to 40 percent of people who approach Master Gardeners are unprepared for the questions theyʼll be asked. But no one should be intimidated.

“Some people are avid gardeners, others are new,” she said. “Itʼs dramatically different. We get from super simple problems to some that are complex that theyʼve already had other experts out for consultation. Thereʼs no typical client.”

You can bring in samples, photographs and as much information as you can muster of the affected plant for your local Master Gardeners to examine. If coming into the office is onerous, you can email photos and information, as well. Youʼll find

the email address, phone number and address of your local Extension office on the website. Or submit a question and photograph to OSU Extensionʼs Ask an Expert service.

For more information about pests and diseases, go online to the PNW Plant Disease Management Handbook and the PNW Insect Management Handbook.

Additionally, Bell teaches a self-paced online course thatʼs available in fall through OSUʼs Professional and Continuing Education.

“The principles of diagnosing a plant problem are very similar to going to a doctor or an auto mechanic,” Bell said. “The doctor and the auto mechanic are looking for evidence of the root of the issue.”

Bell suggested some important questions to ask as you begin your investigation: • Whatʼs the identity of the affected plant? Determine whether a “real” problem exists; maybe whatever the plant is doing is normal.

• How many plants of the affected species are present?

• How many plants in that group are affected?

• What is the pattern of damage within the population? A uniform pattern usually indicates non-living, environmental causes of the problem. A random pattern indicates that diseases or pests could be culprits. But donʼt over-analyze “uniform” versus “random.”

• Which part or parts of the plant are affected? Just the leaves, fruit, shoots, a combination of those, or the whole plant?

• Whatʼs the pattern of damage on the leaves and stems of the individual plant?

If the damage pattern is uniform or random it can often indicate the cause is non-living or caused by pests.

• What time of year did the symptoms appear?

• Are the symptoms spreading, improving or constant?

Pest or disease problems often become worse with time.

Environmental problems in some cases look bad for a while but may start to improve.

• Are any signs of a pest present? Signs of a pest could include slug slime trails, rodent mounds or holes, fungal fruiting bodies, or notches cut from the leaf margin.

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