Category Weekly Columns

Photo of Wayne Lee

Wayne’s World – May 13, 2026

This coming Saturday, May 16, marks a milestone in my personal history. First, it’s the birthday of my younger brother who died in a car crash when he was 20. But it just so happens that it is also the date of the very first story I wrote as an audition for this esteemed publication.

photo of black raspberries

All Things Oregon – Berries and Veggies

As the weather warms it’s hard not to think about produce. So in this week’s All Things we’ll explore Oregon raspberries and their family members, as well as the many veggies we grow for processing.

photo of a cluster of lupines with pale purple flowers.

A Botanist’s View of Local Flora – Lupine

Lupines bring back many memories from my childhood. I loved the annual lupines we found on hikes in the canyons below Mount Diablo. In my adult years living in Texas, everyone there has heard of the Texas Bluebonnets aka Lupinus texensis. There are a number of species of lupine found in Oregon. I’ve listed 6 species and a second variety of one of the species.

photo of a ground cone flower next to actual pine cones.

Winding Trails by Al Hobart – Ground Cone

Some of the most attractive and interesting of our host of parasitic plants are the various members of the broomrape, or cancer-root, family.  For those who want to look them up in the wildplant manuals the botanical name of this family is Orobanchaceae. 

photo of wayne on his ebike

Wayne’s World – May 6, 2026

Well, Da Beast and I have now logged more than 3,600 miles together over the past 14 plus months and with the weather improving almost daily, it may be time for a tune-up and plans for another long-distance adventure. I have yet to determine a destination, but opportunities abound. After all, I have yet to visit the city of Rogue River, but I believe it's doable. 

photo of a closed wild peony blossom and leaves.

A Botanist’s View of Local Flora – Wild Peony

This is the time of year when the Peonies are blooming that I think of my sisters. Two of them dearly loved these majestic flowers. My sister in California had a beautiful bed of pale pink herbaceous peonies mingled with Bearded Iris of the same color. Blooming together they made a fabulous show. My other sister also loved the peonies especially when she and her husband retired and moved to Trail, Oregon. The home they purchased had a raised bed of Tree Peonies across much of the front of the home. In addition, in a bed under the silver birch trees were clumps of herbaceous peonies in pink and white colors.