If you’ve ever seen a photo of this week’s crawly it may have tempted you to ever so slightly believe the “birds aren’t real” conspiracy theory.

Feeding the birds in my yard has always been entertaining, but lately it’s proving to be educational as well.

In an attempt to keep the 40+ Band-tailed Pigeons who visit my yard from eating all the other seed from all the other feeders, I’ve taken a two-prong approach.

I am at last back on the west coast, the best coast, and best of all, my time zone. I did the best I could on a Connecticut couch for a week of chaos as kids came together in a way that only kids can.

Medford, OR (Sept. 15-19, 2026) – Internationally recognized artist Peter Erskine, known for Solar Spectrum Art installations in European train stations and the Ancient Roman Forum, has lately turned his attention to much smaller venues—local public libraries.

Now that we’ve had some rain, and we’ve dropped to the Moderate Fire Danger level, and the Watch Duty Ap shows mostly “mostly contained” fires vs. “The entire state is on fire!” let’s look back on some historical Oregon wildfires, early detection and the challenges firefighters faced back then.

Paintbrushes (Castilleja). Fascinating name for these plants, the flower inflorescences look like fluffy paintbrushes that have been dipped in paint. We are going to look at two different groups of Castilleja.

Above my cabin door in Packers Gulch is a weather-and-time-worn, but artistic, wooden sign that says “Wolf Den.”  It is there not to discourage visitors, nor to scare away evil spirits, but as a proud display of a treasured souvenir from a distant mountain peak where it graced the entrance to a doorway that is…

The lake level is 1,795.87ft and the water surface temperature at Lost Creek is 62F. In addition to trolling, Lost Creek also offers good bank fishing access, and fishing on both sides of the lake near the dam can be very effective using PowerBait.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sandra Barber on July 16, 2026. Sandra Tramontana was born and raised in New Orleans on March 25, 1944 and lived there until she was 30.

Regularly Scheduled Public MeetingsCity Hall – Council Chambers17 Buchanan Avenue South City Council – Meetings are regularly held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 6:00 p.m. – Council Chambers and via Zoom.  Public Hearing notice listed below.Neighborhood Enhancement Commission – Next meeting date to be announced  – Council Chambers.Planning Commission– Next meeting…

Sept. 9 is National Grilled Chicken Day! Sept. 15 is a twofer – National Cheese Toast and National Linguine Day! So let’s dig into a trio of recipes to celebrate these national days.

Editor’s Note: Factual information for citations/arrests are provided by official law enforcement agencies. All persons listed are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Charges can be amended or dismissed.

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The Eagle Point City Council met Aug. 25 to take the next step towards expanding into one of the Urban Growth Boundaries. There are four UGBs in Eagle Point, all on the outskirts of the city, on the north, south, east, and west sides.

The Eagle Point High School football team opened the 2026 season at home Aug. 28 against Yreka on a full moon which may, or may not, have influenced the game. You be the judge.

The Eagle Point School District Board of Directors met Aug. 26 where they reviewed various policies and prepared for the upcoming school year.

In honor of Labor Day this week we’ll meet some social wasps – the ultimate example of working hard and working together! There are at least 208 species of social wasps in North America. Nearly all those species have the same life cycle, type of nest, assignment of work duties, etc. However, we’ll focus on…

Welcome back to “Cri learns about the Universal Cat Distribution System Pt. II” If you need to catch up on Pt. I – click over now. We’ll be here when you get back.

Caught up? Great!

After a lengthy series of delays, (keep in mind I left Oregon on a Saturday afternoon and it is now Wednesday) my oldest daughter, youngest son and their spouses and daughters were all reunited in Connecticut. For those keeping score, it was two little girls, one from my oldest child and one from my youngest…