The Nugget Newspaper's Home & Garden 2021 // 2021-04-21

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

15

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

WELCOME TO SISTERS, SPRING!

If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that our home place matters — a lot. Now more than ever, we want to make our living space truly our own.

We are ready to go. It’s time to get the yard in shape; time to turn the yard into a nice place to safely gather; time to stop thinking and start doing.

With materials hard to come by and prices on the rise, it pays to plan ahead with the help of experienced professionals who can

help you make the most of your home-improvement plans. They can help you choose the right project — then help you get it done … or help you do it yourself.

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

Rent the tools for the job or hire folks who have the best equipment and the expertise to put living well in Sisters within your reach.

ALPINE LAND MANAGEMENT LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES Juniper Composting organic fertilizer FIREWOOD

SPRING CLEAN UP

$200/cord

Preventative fire-fuel reduction

DELIVERED

TREE AND SHRUB PRUNING Hauling fuels debris, staging for fall burning Specializing in Sisters Properties

541 977 6711 alpineland@aol.com Vernon Stubbs

No Job Too Big Or Too Small!

“This area is a unique place on earth,” Vernon Stubbs says. “It’s a huge responsibility for us to steward the land and be very careful with it.”

Stubbs shoulders that responsibility through his company, Alpine Land Management.

He promotes biodiversity through thinning, especially of juniper, controlled “jackpot” burning of concentrated fuels, reforesting, transplanting of native botanicals and grasses and composting. He turns cut juniper into fence posts and firewood lengths.

Where burning isn’t an option, he will haul materials away. And he will deliver firewood through the summer.

Alpine Land Management is currently engaged in fescue restoration projects, which provide excellent value for the customer, while restoring a natural feel to the landscape. Stubbs transplants the fescue evenly and top-dresses with compost to get the dryland grass established. It doesn’t require irrigation.

With Stubbs’ deep knowledge and passion, Alpine Land Management offers clients value, quality — and a sense of pride in their personal landscape.

16

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

1

lived the first 60 years of my life on the west side of the Cascade Mountains where the landscape is lush and green, and gardens contain the requisite rhododendrons, azaleas, tulips, roses, and manicured lawns.

Moving to Central Oregon 17 years ago, I dutifully enrolled in the Oregon State University Extension Master Gardeners program because I realized I knew nothing about gardening on the “dry side,” and I loved to garden. But I didn’t get the message those many years ago, and continued my westside ways with a few minor alterations.

Almost two decades later, the Central Oregon environment, with its native dry soil and roaming wildlife, has convinced me to not replace the deer fencing around what used to be typical “wet side” perennial beds and the now sickly lawn (due to my desire to not use chemical fertilizers).

It started when I stopped removing dandelions from the lawn after I read they are one of the first food sources for bees in the spring.

American goldfinches at backyard bird feeder in the winter.

IN AN EMERGENCY, YOU AREN’T UP A TREE... RE!

WE A

• 15 YEARS TREE/ ARBOR EXPERIENCE • Family Owned & Operated

• FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING • 24-Hr. Emergency & Storm-Related Service

• INSURANCE CLAIMS • Free, Accurate Estimates

CALL US TODAY

541-815-2342 CCB#215057

• SENIOR & MILITARY DISCOUNTS • Snow Removal (Roofing, Snowblowing)

Confessions of a transplanted gardener Story and photos by Sue Stafford

Lupine adds a splash of blue or lavender as part of the native plant landscape Mother Nature has made me a believer in the importance of my fitting into her landscape. Seeing as how lawns cover at least 50,000 square miles of the U.S., in my little backyard I can at least do my part to restore the native ecosystem around my house. The deer have been trying to tell me that ever since I moved in by cooperatively eating my nonnative planting choices. My perennial beds have died out due to native soil conditions, the deer, and the underground critters that actually had the audacity to pull the plants down into the ground.

This is the year I finally decided to join forces with Mother Nature

and begin to transform my backyard into a biodiverse world of native plants suited to the environment, able to provide food, shelter, water, and a place to raise their young for insects, pollinators, birds, rodents, and mammals while reducing/eliminating the need for excess watering and the use of nonorganic fertilizers.

Online can be found a myriad of resources that explain the why and how of building wildlife habitat by using native plants. Simply google either term. A whole world will open up. The Deschutes County OSU Extension office website is home to helpful local information on the topics (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/

541-598-4125

goldmtnbend@gmail.com LCB#9674 – CCB#214597

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

necessary to qualify. It isn’t difficult.

Ecologist Douglas Tallamy’s book, “Nature’s Best Hope,” explains that the best way to protect biodiversity is for people to plant native plants and promote conservation in every yard.

Kalin Emrich, of The Garden Angel here in Sisters, believes you can be a good steward while also enjoying a great garden. He says that using native plants and organic materials in the landscape can yield beneficial results over the long term for you and nature.

Emrich and his crew practice a natural approach to landscape maintenance.

Another local source, C & C Nursery, on the corner of West Hood Avenue and South Pine Street, can provide you with cold-hardy, deerresistant shrubs and perennials. You can also find butterfly-, bee-, and hummingbird-friendly plants as well as succulents and ornamental grasses.

Winter Creek Restoration and Nursery on Deschutes Market Road has an informative website (www. wintercreeknative.com) and sells native plants grown from local seed and cuttings. They also offer

knowledgeable consultation, design, and installation services for those deciding to “go native.”

Now, while we are waiting for the snow to leave Black Butte, is a great time to do your homework by researching information about native plants suited to your landscape environment. You can start small; no need to tackle the whole yard at once. We can’t change the world or stop climate change, but we can begin to restore the biodiversity in our own backyard and improve habitat for our crawling, winged, and four-footed neighbors.

California Tortoiseshell butterflies make a stop in Sisters every April to sample the sap on the River Birch in my backyard. Their numbers are dwindling each year.

Indian paintbrush is a colorful addition to a native-plant landscape, although it is hemiparasitic — has the ability to photosynthesize on its own, but it forms modified roots that draw water and nutrients from its chosen host plant, often a perennial wildflower or grass. So plant carefully.

4 BROTHERS TREE SERVICE Trees are the pride and joy of many a property owner in Sisters Country. When winter rolls around, they can be a problem when they break and fall and crash to the ground — or on your deck, your house or your car.

Caring for your trees — or dealing with a problem — requires a wide range of knowledge and experience; the right equipment for the job; and a commitment to safety and reliability. That’s what 4 Brothers Tree Service brings to bear, with a full range of services — tree removal, pruning, stump grinding, fire fuel reduction, lot cleaning, commercial thinning. In winter, they provide snow-removal services.

4 Brothers is well-equipped to handle any treeservice job. That helps ensure that work is done

MAHONIA GARDENS

is a one-acre market garden in Sisters utilizing organic & sustainable practices.

Produce available at THE STAND, Central Oregon Locavore & Agricultural Connections.

— Family Owned & Operated —

in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.

Now is the time to assess the condition of your trees. 4 Brothers Tree Service is ready to help.

GOLD MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE & CONSTRUCTION

Risk-Free Landscape Services Irrigation Installs Repairs • Start Ups Water Features Maintenance • And More Call or email for more information

deschutes), as well as plant, tree, and shrub lists.

The National Wildlife Federation (www.nwf.org) offers a program that will recognize your yard or garden (or a portion thereof) as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. The $20 application processing fee and sign purchase directly support the NWF’s programs to protect wildlife and its habitat. Their website outlines what is

Gold Mountain Landscape & Construction is a company dedicated to providing high-quality lawn maintenance and has been offering outstanding landscaping and irrigation services in Central Oregon.

Gold Mountain specializes in landscape construction, lawn seeding, artificial turf installation, tree pruning, lawn maintenance, and tree planting/ removal. The services they offer are based on years of experience which come from providing professional landscaping and other services such as tree removal, irrigation installation, or repairs.

Gold Mountain completes their work in three steps: First, they receive your quote request and respond to it within a minimal timeframe. Then they schedule a date that suits you for initializing the landscaping project. Lastly, they provide

licensed and bonded services.

Gold Mountain Landscape & Construction will make your lawn beautiful and worth seeing. Let them landscape your lawn this season, so you can get the greatest enjoyment out of your lawn and home.

CASCADE GARAGE DOOR Making sure your garage door is functioning properly and safely is an important part of any season.

Cascade Garage Door is a family owned and operated residential garage-door company that is dedicated to providing superior products and exceptional service to customers across Central Oregon.

They strive to meet the highest quality levels required for our harsh Central Oregon climate. The knowledgeable and friendly office staff and their certified garage-door professionals always strive to provide the best in professional same-day service.

Their team of Raynor Academy Factory Trained and Certified Residential Technicians can service and fix all garage doors and openers, in both residential and commercial applications. Cascade Garage Door provides garage-door maintenance services; broken spring replacement; cables and rollers; weather seal and bottom rubber replacement, as well as new garage door installation and door retrofitting.

Superior Sales & Service Doors & Openers • All Makes & Models

541-548-2215 — CCB#44054 —

2021 CSA is a membership at THE STAND!

www.MahoniaGardens.com THE STAND Open Daily, May through October

254 E. Adams Ave. • 541-420-8684

FREE INSURANCE COMPARISON!

Auto • Home • Business • Life Get answers to your questions...

• Do you understand your policy?

• Are you overpaying?

• How can you save money by packaging options?

Get to know your agent...

Jason Rybka 541-588-6245 257 S. Pine St., #101 www.farmersagent.com/jrybka

A NATURAL APPROACH TO LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE Organic turf maintenance Flower bed maintenance Spring cleanups • Irrigation startups Planting • Mowing and pruning

LCB#9583 LCB LCB#95 C #9583 83

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16

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

1

lived the first 60 years of my life on the west side of the Cascade Mountains where the landscape is lush and green, and gardens contain the requisite rhododendrons, azaleas, tulips, roses, and manicured lawns.

Moving to Central Oregon 17 years ago, I dutifully enrolled in the Oregon State University Extension Master Gardeners program because I realized I knew nothing about gardening on the “dry side,” and I loved to garden. But I didn’t get the message those many years ago, and continued my westside ways with a few minor alterations.

Almost two decades later, the Central Oregon environment, with its native dry soil and roaming wildlife, has convinced me to not replace the deer fencing around what used to be typical “wet side” perennial beds and the now sickly lawn (due to my desire to not use chemical fertilizers).

It started when I stopped removing dandelions from the lawn after I read they are one of the first food sources for bees in the spring.

American goldfinches at backyard bird feeder in the winter.

IN AN EMERGENCY, YOU AREN’T UP A TREE... RE!

WE A

• 15 YEARS TREE/ ARBOR EXPERIENCE • Family Owned & Operated

• FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING • 24-Hr. Emergency & Storm-Related Service

• INSURANCE CLAIMS • Free, Accurate Estimates

CALL US TODAY

541-815-2342 CCB#215057

• SENIOR & MILITARY DISCOUNTS • Snow Removal (Roofing, Snowblowing)

Confessions of a transplanted gardener Story and photos by Sue Stafford

Lupine adds a splash of blue or lavender as part of the native plant landscape Mother Nature has made me a believer in the importance of my fitting into her landscape. Seeing as how lawns cover at least 50,000 square miles of the U.S., in my little backyard I can at least do my part to restore the native ecosystem around my house. The deer have been trying to tell me that ever since I moved in by cooperatively eating my nonnative planting choices. My perennial beds have died out due to native soil conditions, the deer, and the underground critters that actually had the audacity to pull the plants down into the ground.

This is the year I finally decided to join forces with Mother Nature

and begin to transform my backyard into a biodiverse world of native plants suited to the environment, able to provide food, shelter, water, and a place to raise their young for insects, pollinators, birds, rodents, and mammals while reducing/eliminating the need for excess watering and the use of nonorganic fertilizers.

Online can be found a myriad of resources that explain the why and how of building wildlife habitat by using native plants. Simply google either term. A whole world will open up. The Deschutes County OSU Extension office website is home to helpful local information on the topics (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/

541-598-4125

goldmtnbend@gmail.com LCB#9674 – CCB#214597

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

necessary to qualify. It isn’t difficult.

Ecologist Douglas Tallamy’s book, “Nature’s Best Hope,” explains that the best way to protect biodiversity is for people to plant native plants and promote conservation in every yard.

Kalin Emrich, of The Garden Angel here in Sisters, believes you can be a good steward while also enjoying a great garden. He says that using native plants and organic materials in the landscape can yield beneficial results over the long term for you and nature.

Emrich and his crew practice a natural approach to landscape maintenance.

Another local source, C & C Nursery, on the corner of West Hood Avenue and South Pine Street, can provide you with cold-hardy, deerresistant shrubs and perennials. You can also find butterfly-, bee-, and hummingbird-friendly plants as well as succulents and ornamental grasses.

Winter Creek Restoration and Nursery on Deschutes Market Road has an informative website (www. wintercreeknative.com) and sells native plants grown from local seed and cuttings. They also offer

knowledgeable consultation, design, and installation services for those deciding to “go native.”

Now, while we are waiting for the snow to leave Black Butte, is a great time to do your homework by researching information about native plants suited to your landscape environment. You can start small; no need to tackle the whole yard at once. We can’t change the world or stop climate change, but we can begin to restore the biodiversity in our own backyard and improve habitat for our crawling, winged, and four-footed neighbors.

California Tortoiseshell butterflies make a stop in Sisters every April to sample the sap on the River Birch in my backyard. Their numbers are dwindling each year.

Indian paintbrush is a colorful addition to a native-plant landscape, although it is hemiparasitic — has the ability to photosynthesize on its own, but it forms modified roots that draw water and nutrients from its chosen host plant, often a perennial wildflower or grass. So plant carefully.

4 BROTHERS TREE SERVICE Trees are the pride and joy of many a property owner in Sisters Country. When winter rolls around, they can be a problem when they break and fall and crash to the ground — or on your deck, your house or your car.

Caring for your trees — or dealing with a problem — requires a wide range of knowledge and experience; the right equipment for the job; and a commitment to safety and reliability. That’s what 4 Brothers Tree Service brings to bear, with a full range of services — tree removal, pruning, stump grinding, fire fuel reduction, lot cleaning, commercial thinning. In winter, they provide snow-removal services.

4 Brothers is well-equipped to handle any treeservice job. That helps ensure that work is done

MAHONIA GARDENS

is a one-acre market garden in Sisters utilizing organic & sustainable practices.

Produce available at THE STAND, Central Oregon Locavore & Agricultural Connections.

— Family Owned & Operated —

in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.

Now is the time to assess the condition of your trees. 4 Brothers Tree Service is ready to help.

GOLD MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE & CONSTRUCTION

Risk-Free Landscape Services Irrigation Installs Repairs • Start Ups Water Features Maintenance • And More Call or email for more information

deschutes), as well as plant, tree, and shrub lists.

The National Wildlife Federation (www.nwf.org) offers a program that will recognize your yard or garden (or a portion thereof) as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. The $20 application processing fee and sign purchase directly support the NWF’s programs to protect wildlife and its habitat. Their website outlines what is

Gold Mountain Landscape & Construction is a company dedicated to providing high-quality lawn maintenance and has been offering outstanding landscaping and irrigation services in Central Oregon.

Gold Mountain specializes in landscape construction, lawn seeding, artificial turf installation, tree pruning, lawn maintenance, and tree planting/ removal. The services they offer are based on years of experience which come from providing professional landscaping and other services such as tree removal, irrigation installation, or repairs.

Gold Mountain completes their work in three steps: First, they receive your quote request and respond to it within a minimal timeframe. Then they schedule a date that suits you for initializing the landscaping project. Lastly, they provide

licensed and bonded services.

Gold Mountain Landscape & Construction will make your lawn beautiful and worth seeing. Let them landscape your lawn this season, so you can get the greatest enjoyment out of your lawn and home.

CASCADE GARAGE DOOR Making sure your garage door is functioning properly and safely is an important part of any season.

Cascade Garage Door is a family owned and operated residential garage-door company that is dedicated to providing superior products and exceptional service to customers across Central Oregon.

They strive to meet the highest quality levels required for our harsh Central Oregon climate. The knowledgeable and friendly office staff and their certified garage-door professionals always strive to provide the best in professional same-day service.

Their team of Raynor Academy Factory Trained and Certified Residential Technicians can service and fix all garage doors and openers, in both residential and commercial applications. Cascade Garage Door provides garage-door maintenance services; broken spring replacement; cables and rollers; weather seal and bottom rubber replacement, as well as new garage door installation and door retrofitting.

Superior Sales & Service Doors & Openers • All Makes & Models

541-548-2215 — CCB#44054 —

2021 CSA is a membership at THE STAND!

www.MahoniaGardens.com THE STAND Open Daily, May through October

254 E. Adams Ave. • 541-420-8684

FREE INSURANCE COMPARISON!

Auto • Home • Business • Life Get answers to your questions...

• Do you understand your policy?

• Are you overpaying?

• How can you save money by packaging options?

Get to know your agent...

Jason Rybka 541-588-6245 257 S. Pine St., #101 www.farmersagent.com/jrybka

A NATURAL APPROACH TO LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE Organic turf maintenance Flower bed maintenance Spring cleanups • Irrigation startups Planting • Mowing and pruning

LCB#9583 LCB LCB#95 C #9583 83

17

18

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

Burn safely — or not at all The adage April showers bring May flowers is being tested this spring. And while the unseasonably dry weather is pulling Oregonians outside, it’s also spurring firefighters into action.

The year 2021 has already produced nearly three times the average number of fires to date; many of which have resulted from escaped backyard debris burn piles, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. As of April 13, 70 fires have burned 402 acres on Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands, 40 of which came from debris burning that accounted for 154 acres.

The 10-year average for all fires by this date is 24 fires for 225 acres.

While fire season has not officially started, experts say to watch the conditions and not the calendar.

“Just because fire season has not been declared does not mean fire danger does not exist,” said ODF Fire Prevention Coordinator Tom Fields. “The window of opportunity to clean up around homes and dispose of woody debris in a safe manner is narrowing each year. Now is the time to reassess and wait for better conditions.”

Some jurisdictions, like the City of Sisters, do not allow outdoor burning of debris at all. Fields says

A FireFree yard debris disposal event is set for Sisters area:

Northwest Transfer Station 68200 Fryrear Rd., Cloverdale May 26-June 5, Wed.-Sat. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Dispose of grass clippings, brush, plant prunings, pine needles, pine cones, weeds, trimmings and branches, stumps or trees (no larger than 12 inches in diameter). Such debris will be accepted for free. The transfer station will not accept sod, dirt, rocks, lumber, metal, trash, or plastics of any kind, including plastic bags, and any stumps or trees larger than 12 inches in diameter.

that if burning is your choice of debris disposal, the window to burn this spring may already be closed and that it may be best to wait until late fall or winter to burn debris safely. When conditions warrant, follow these simple steps.

• Place yard debris in an open area away from structures, trees and power lines.

• Create small piles (4-by-4-feet)

to better manage the burn.

• Cover portions of piles with polyethylene plastic (landscape material) to keep a portion dry for lighting later (preferably in late fall or winter).

• When conditions improve, check with your local fire agency for any regulations in place.

• Never burn under windy conditions.

• To maintain containment, create a perimeter around the pile at a minimum of 3 feet, scraped clear to bare mineral soil.

• Keep a shovel and charged hose nearby to manage the burn.

• Make sure the pile is dead out before leaving.

Return periodically over several weeks to make sure the pile is still out: No heat, no smoke.

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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.

It’s a paver kind spring

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

T

here’s something happening here… Suddenly it seems that everybody in Sisters is doing projects with pavers.

It’s not hard to understand why — pavers are versatile and durable, and a paver patio can provide an option that can replace a wood deck or supplement one. You can choose among a variety of colors and textures and create an almost endless variety of attractive patterns.

Ryan Vohs of Vohs Custom Landscaping has been seeing an upsurge in interest in pavers, especially in the face of rising material costs — and scarcity — when it comes to lumber products.

“Your best investment for outdoor, usable space is going to be pavers,” he said.

Pavers have advantages in durability, longevity, ease of use and ease of maintenance. It’s simple to keep a paver patio clean, and you can readily repair or replace a broken or chipped paver here and there.

“Especially in our area, I think it’s something that really adds value to your house,” Vohs said. “It’s an extension of your living room, in my opinion.”

Outdoor entertainment spaces have become more valuable than ever in pandemic conditions.

You’re limited only by imagination and budget as to what you can do.

You can create a simple patio or go with an elaborate outdoor kitchen

By Jim Cornelius

constructed out of stone. Build retaining walls or seating walls crafted out of the hard stuff. You can add a fire pit. You can create a whole driveway out of pavers, utilizing high-PSI-rated materials to withstand heavy traffic.

Some care and effort is involved, and for bigger projects, it’s probably wise to tap local expertise.

NEW!

SISTERS RENTAL Seems that everybody is working with pavers this spring. Small wonder: They’re durable, aesthetic, readily available — and surprisingly easy to work with.

There are lots of contractors in Sisters who work with pavers — but it’s both cost-effective and fun to take a paver project on as a DIY effort. That’s where Sisters Rental comes in. They have recently begun to stock product from the highly respected Oregon Block and Paver out of Prineville, which means they have everything you need for a project.

You’ll need base material, a compactor, the stones you want to use, and play sand to work in the seams to settle and lock in the pavers. All of that is available at Sisters Rental — along with expert advice that will take the intimidation factor out of the equation.

And while you’re at it, you can get a kit to put together a stone fire pit — an easy project that will greatly enhance your enjoyment of your yard. Get on it — and have fun!

“It’s not just slam it in the ground and go,” Vohs said.

On the other hand, a paver project is not so complex that it’s out of reach for a do-it-yourself project.

“People get intimidated by it, but it’s one of those things that when you start it, it’s very simple,” said Eric Spor of Sisters Rental.

Sisters Rental has always had

on hand the tools and materials needed for such projects — and now they’ve added the pavers themselves, with materials crafted

by Oregon Block and Paver out of Prineville.

Spor lays out a simple protocol, using materials that are available at the shop.

Measure the area you plan to cover and stake it. Dig down about three to four inches and lay in your base material — 1/2 or 1/4-minus construction gravel and compact it, then lay in a base layer of sand.

“That allows you to manipulate the stones when you lay them,” Spor said.

Layer play sand over the top and brush it into the seams to lock your pavers in place.

You can go as simple or as complex as you like with the pattern.

“There’s probably 20 to 30 designs a [person] could do,” Spor said. “We display the simplest ones.”

Sisters Rental also offers a stone-fire-pit kit that comes on a pallet and is simple as can be to put together, with no cuts required. You simply stack the thing up, gather around and enjoy.

“You can glue them if you want, but you don’t have to,” Spor said.

Whether you do it yourself or hire it done, a paver project creates space your family can enjoy that won’t require too much upkeep and will last and last.

OREGON BLOCK PAVERS & ALLEN BLOCK RETAINING-WALL SYSTEMS Hardscapes designed to add beauty — and value — to your property.

SIDEWALKS PATIOS DRIVEWAYS SEATING WALLS & PLANTERS OUTDOOR KITCHENS ENTERTAINING SPACES FIREPITS Call or come by for more details...

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Mon-Fri am- pm | Sat am- pm

www.sistersrental.com

Sales • Service • Rentals • Accessories

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Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

Ba ling CHEATGRASS never ends Story and photo by Katy Yoder

Our son-in-love, Toby Maxwell, is a research scientist working on a project in Idaho. He’s studying invasive species like cheatgrass, and how climate change correlates with its proliferation. Since I spent many back-aching hours last year handweeding cheatgrass in our pasture, I’m well aware of its detrimental effect on the High Desert.

Cheatgrass begins as a benignlooking treat for grazers. Although it fills stomachs, it’s poorly nutritious for the animals consuming it. When it turns from green to a luscious purple and begins to dry out, it loses its allure as a food source and becomes a menace. The foxtails waving in the wind and attaching themselves to the coats of animals are an effective way to scatter seeds and expand territory.

Horses and other grazers that snatch a bite of grass and get some foxtails along with it, can get infections and even die from sharp foxtails burrowing deep into tender tissue.

At its climax, cheatgrass can decimate an ecosystem, growing in near monoculture — the dominance by a single plant in a given area. This can result in pathogens and disease which undermines the potential of a plot of land, depletes soil resources, and diminishes the

Beau roams a pasture that’s got some cheatgrass in it.

The invasive pest can’t be eliminated entirely — but it can be fought. quality of the food produced there.

I’ve asked Toby how to get rid of cheatgrass. It’s not native to Central Oregon and was accidently introduced to the U.S. in packing material in the late 1800s. It’s a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa.

It is now invasive worldwide. It’s common for seeds, designed to burrow into the ground, to get into a dog’s skin, ears and nose which can cause infections and even death.

According to the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, Bromus tectorum, or cheatgrass, spreads explosively in the ready-made seedbeds prepared

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by the trampling hooves of livestock on over-grazed rangelands.

Disturbance associated with homesteading and cultivation of winter wheat also accelerated its spread and establishment.

By the 1930s, cheatgrass was becoming the dominant grass over vast areas of the Pacific Northwest and the Intermountain West regions.

It’s now estimated to infest more than 41 million hectares (101 million acres) in western states. While it’s pesky for our pets, it’s also known to increase the frequency of wildfire and disrupt habitat for a variety of native animals of interest to naturalists and hunters alike.

Learn more here: https://plants.usda. gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_brte.pdf.

Toby was clear that there’s no way to completely get rid of cheatgrass. It will always find a way to survive somehow, somewhere.

His work is in its early stages.

What he knows so far is that one way to gain some control of cheatgrass in our Central Oregon pastures is by making sure beneficial grasses are healthy and receive proper nourishment. Cheatgrass is an opportunist. It lives and flourishes when other grasses are weakened by poor soil quality, lack of water and detrimental uses like overgrazing.

I’m still going to pull up the cheatgrass. But I’m not putting down poison in its place. That will only kill living things needed for a healthy, diverse, multicultural ecology. I look at fields, mottled with snow and wet soil, and know there are foxtail seeds that I missed.

They live under the snow all winter, giving their destructive agenda a competitive edge after winter’s siege. They will be the first to push through the cold ground and rise towards the sunlight. Finding and eradicating them when they’re young and harmless will allow native plants a chance to thrive.

SISTERS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Sisters Habitat for Humanity Restore should be at the top of your list of stops when you’re planning your home projects this spring. Indoor and outdoor furniture of excellent quality can be had here for outstanding prices — with what you spend paying forward into Habitat’s housing programs.

Need tools and supplies for your project?

Restore has an array of hand tools and some power tools available. Doors, trim, tile, paint — you can find it all at Restore. Their garden-supply room is outstanding.

The Restore yard reopened to the public on April 1, and they are again taking donations. No appointment is necessary during designated hours

— but you will need to unload yourself. Pickups are available for some donations, call 541-549-1621 to inquire.

Volunteers are needed to staff the facility — cashiers, greeters, intake, pricing/sorting, and product testing are all slots that need filling — and a camera specialist would be most appreciated.

ALL YOU NEED MAINTENANCE & REPAIR You are looking at a whole lot of chores this spring. 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).

AYN is a full-service, locally owned family company in Sisters. They proudly serve the whole Sisters area at a very high standard. Principal Austin Selle says that his motto is that perfection is the only option, no matter the size and scope of the job.

AYN hires locally and buys its materials locally, fully committed to the Sisters community because they “very much believe in this little town.”

They are licensed, bonded, and insured, and offer fair competitive pricing, and free estimates.

They stand behind every job with pride in a higher standard of excellence.