“I judge that the flowers of Lavender quilted in a cap and worn are good for all diseases of the head…and that they comfort the brain very well.” ~ William Turner, New Herball, 1551
Many of the students I teach at Rogue Community College tell me they hope to use their […]
With two successful events under our belt that kicked-off the season, summer is now in full-swing at Hanley Farm. The annual Heritage Plant & Garden Fair and Children’s Heritage Fair seem to improve each year, with more community support than ever. We hope you had the opportunity to enjoy […]
I love this expression. I have to admit I have a penchant for those expressions in my mother tongue, French. This one touches on a subject close to my heart: Joy. Reconnecting people with their inner joy is my passion and my life’s work.
Besides making your life more enjoyable, Joy is […]
Mary recently suggested I update the profile photo on this column. I asked her why and she said the image didn’t really look like me anymore. I’m trying not to read too much into that but image and perception are primarily manipulated by what we see and therefore believe. […]
In the time of your life, live — so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. ~William Saroyan
“Time sure does fly, doesn’t it?”
That’s what the vet said as he was preparing to help end the suffering of […]
I hate to tell you, but your ’80s clothes are now considered “vintage.”
I have not yet heard a word to describe the ’80s clothes as a genre. The ’70s boasted retro hippies left-over from the ’60s, stylish Hip-looking funky bellbottomed professionals letting their hair get longer; […]
Spring and summer seasons bring many warm, bright and vivid colors to the clothes we wear and the landscape we enjoy seeing. So why not bring it into our homes, as well?
“Pantone” publishes a “color of the year” and this year it is […]
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” ~ May Sarton, Plant Dreaming Deep, 1968
I agree that patience is becoming a lost art in our hectic, fast-food, fast-everything lives where […]
DIY landscaping projects can be a great way to work outside, gain new skills and increase your home’s value. However, there may be some outdoor projects that are too overwhelming or challenging for the average homeowner.
When considering an extensive landscape project, budget is always a primary concern. The thought of […]
Zillow is currently the most popular online real estate site, with 75 million unique visitors a month. Along with active listings of properties for sale, it also provides information on houses that are not on the market. You can enter the address or general location […]
Well… it seems as if your Mayor has finally done it. I broke a rule every Boy Scout was taught since the first one earned that title in 1910. Even my grade school teachers did their best to make me understand… in any endeavor, in any undertaking, […]
Cornelius C. Beekman was arguably the wealthiest and most prominent of the pioneers who settled Jacksonville in the mid-1800s. From relatively humble beginnings as a carpenter and express rider, he built a business empire of banking, mining, and real estate interests.
He was also a public servant. Beekman was repeatedly elected to […]
08/08/08.
That’s the date we arrived in Jacksonville. Not being numerologists, we had no idea of how auspicious a day it would prove to be. Our new house, located near the top of a (steep) hill, offered a great view. Our dogs approved of the yard. The neighbors, even after learning […]
This is always an exciting month at Britt, as the anticipation for the summer concert season gives way to great music on the Hill. It’s also a time of several other celebrations and special events.
First off, as you can see on the cover of the June Jacksonville Review, we […]
The Britt ACE (Arts Career Exploration) program is presenting a concert by the Portland Cello Project in the Britt Performance Garden on June 4th, 2015 from 8 to 10 p.m. The concert is a culmination of knowledge through a year of study by the ACE participants, who consist of Medford students from both North and […]
Recently, I helped a client identify and clear old emotional issues that kept sabotaging his opportunities for success. “I thought I let that go!” he told me in frustration.
Painful emotions can make us want to shut down and engage in behaviors such as eating, drinking, shopping or overwork. These are just […]
When I was a new mother, utterly and blissfully over the moon for my baby, I thought I would never feel anything less than that all-consuming, perfect love. It simply wasn’t possible.
Fast-forward twelve years to the Japanese Gardens in Portland, where a little family foray, meticulously planned by moi, precipitated a […]
Our house had just burned down. A few weeks later my wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, not the best of times. I mention this only because it was during this season Mikie walked into my life. It’s always when we’re the most distracted by our own issues that […]
With the coming of Spring, so comes the fun of hosting a Tea Party.
The English in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I made a fine art of tea time. Fine tea from China and India was a staple of English life, as The East India Company had trade routes through […]
Outdoor kitchens are a great way to expand your overall living space. Outdoor cooking and entertaining can provide you with a summer “vacation” feel in your own backyard, and as a bonus, well-planned outdoor kitchens enable you to cook outside year-round!
Creating your outdoor […]
In the first quarter of 2015, the median price of a home in the city of Jacksonville increased 41.1% over the same period in 2014, with the median price of a home selling for $398,500. Jacksonville has now passed Ashland with the honor of having […]
At the risk of sounding like a disgruntled stage actor upset with his Wednesday afternoon matinee audience, I feel the need to share my thoughts about citizen attendance at our City Council meetings. Where, oh where are most of you? My one desire is to see more […]
May kicks-off the event season at Hanley Farm with two annual favorites, the Heritage Plant & Garden Fair and the Children’s Heritage Fair.
Mark your calendar for Mother’s Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10, from 10:00am-3:00pm, for the Hanley Heritage Plant & Garden Fair. There will be a wide […]
Jacksonville’s lovely 1892 Queen Anne-style home on North Oregon Street is best known as the “Nunan House,” named after its original occupants, Jeremiah and Delia Nunan (profiled in the March 2015 issue of the Jacksonville Review). But to Herbert Howland Sargent and Alice Applegate Sargent, its second owners, the house was […]
You probably heard a while back that Weird Al Yankovic will be coming to J’Ville’s Britt hill. Yup, on September 2 that freaky accordion player who turned “Beat It” into “Eat It” will perform live right here in town. That early announcement was a rare “sneak peak” into the Britt […]
In thinking about this month’s article, I tried to define for myself what makes Britt so special. Over the past 5 years, I have observed that each concert has its own vibe and culture that brings people of different backgrounds, experiences, and appearances together in a safe and happy environment. Gratefully, music really is blind. […]
“If the English language made any sense, ‘lackadaisical’ would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.” ~Doug Larson, columnist
My English Composition students are often overwhelmed by the word choices they face when they write an essay. It’s the same with me, as a gardener. When I pour over […]
The Northwest’s premier outdoor summer music festival presents performances by artists in pop, bluegrass, rock, country and classical music and more.
JACKSONVILLE, OR — The roots and jam band John Butler Trio, country artist Easton Corbin, pop flamenco act The Gipsy Kings, pop/rockers NEEDTOBREATHE and Switchfoot, the alt-rock band The Decemberists, prolific songwriter Randy Newman, progressive […]
“And the Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.”
~Percy Shelley (1792-1822)
For thousands of local gardeners, spring does not merely arise but leaps forth the minute they step into the Spring […]
At times, we all feel the need to fix some aspect of our life to be truly happy, often spending a lot of time and money on products and regimes that promise the quick results we yearn for. The most common pursuits for happiness revolve around love, money and health. Have […]
I sat down in a good mood on a sunny Sunday morning to look at my email and there it was, lying in wait. The email was from a colleague who is, in every respect, my doppelgänger: same age, same work, same writing style, graduate school, hair color, sense of humor—same […]
Channel surfing the other night, I landed on National Geographic’s Big Cats of the Serengeti. This is where my wife usually exits the room but not before shooting me a subtle yet unmistakable look of disapproval. Okay, I’m drawn to the drama of the plains but not because of […]
In 1907, the Fenton Glass Company in West Virginia produced a style of glass referred to as “iridescent ware.” Fenton called it Iridill and labeled it “Venetian Art.” The idea was to mass-produce a beautiful product that could compete with the expensive, iridescent art glass made by Tiffany and Steuben.
The […]
In recent years, the synthetic grass turf industry has experienced rapid growth despite the slow economy in the commercial and residential building markets. The turf industry coasted through the recession relatively unscathed, propelled by growing demand primarily due to advancements in quality and cost reduction efforts by sporting venues, municipalities, […]
It looks like 2015 will be a great year for sellers to sell their homes and buyers to buy a home! It’s unusual that it’s a great market for both… but here is why.
For home sellers: the number of homes that have resold has increased by 18% and the […]
A Few Minutes with the Mayor – April 2015
As you know, this column seldom devotes attention to affairs outside of Jacksonville; numerous other news and opinion outlets exist for such information. However, reports on the national level about Hillary Clinton’s emails prompted me to join in the conversation, so please bear […]
With spring and summer vacations looming, some of you will be driving over the Siskiyous to visit family and friends in California; others may be looking forward to guests making the trip in reverse. Possible weather and traffic issues aside, drivers and passengers will be experiencing the luxury of riding on […]
This month we had the pleasure of interviewing Elizabeth Worcester of Daisy Creek Farm. Now in their 4th season of leading the agricultural activities at Hanley Farm, we learned more about no-till agriculture and what we can expect to see at the Farm this season.
What is no-till agriculture?—No-Till […]
Two men with irrevocably intertwined lives passed away at the end of February: a world-famous actor, beloved by millions; and a highly successful producer, well known in Hollywood, less familiar to people outside of entertainment circles.
The actor was Leonard Nimoy. He entered the business in l951, performing onstage and onscreen, […]
It is my pleasure to devote this column to introducing and welcoming Kay Hilton, Britt’s new Director of Education and Engagement. With 18 years of experience at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as the Music Coordinator, she comes to Britt with an extensive background in performing arts and education. Kay is knowledgeable and passionate about music, […]
This summer, beginning on July 26, about 100 musicians will descend on Jacksonville. They’re all members of some of the country’s leading orchestras and come to town to be part of the annual three-week-long Britt Classical Festival. Many of them stay here in Jacksonville, where 41 local families open their hearts and homes to them […]
Trust is one of the most important ingredients in any relationship. It takes courage, time and effort to build trust. When we trust someone we can let go of fear and doubt. We get a comforting feeling in our bones that this person is true, honest and real. This allows us […]
I remember the day Mary’s obstetrician told us the baby was transverse lie breach (hugging mamma high and tight sideways) though we still had time. The due day was a few weeks out and there was no sign of an early delivery, not to worry! Leaving the office, however, […]
As a young girl I loved the Little House book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which chronicled her life growing up in the 1860s. I read the books many times and when the television series came out, I was glued to it. I recently got to revisit those halcyon days on […]
My friend Charlotte, in New York keeps me abreast of the latest decorating news. We are both lovers of mixing old and new. A new dress with a vintage pin—a vintage dress with a new scarf…an Ikea dining table with flow blue—a mahogany table with stark white. My daughter paired […]
Hardscapes encompass landscape components such as pavers, concrete, stone, brick, block or wood. As an industry, hardscaping saw significant growth in concurrence with the U.S. economic downturn when people started looking at outdoor living spaces in unconventional ways. Rather than spending hard- earned dollars on expensive get-away vacations, Americans began […]
If you unexpectedly find yourself with a home to rent, you’re what we call an accidental landlord. You never really planned on owning rental property, but maybe you’re facing a job transfer or recently inherited a piece of property. The local real estate market has rebounded nicely and homes […]
Are you troubled by the political discord today? I am! Not that it is anything new. It is as old as the art of politics. History bears that out. I remember the hatred directed at President Harry Truman. It was intense, personal, and vicious… especially after he […]
Our days are finally feeling longer as spring begins to show herself at the Farm. The field of daffodils greets us under the front walnut trees and green buds abound. The Volunteer Garden is actively taking shape as we tenderly care for over 200 heritage plants that were recently […]
Since March 17th celebrates St. Patrick and all things Irish, it seems appropriate for this month’s Pioneer Profiles to feature Jeremiah Nunan, one of Jacksonville’s Irish pioneers. Most people associate Nunan’s name with his elaborate Queen Anne style home on North Oregon Street, one of the town’s most photographed historic landmarks. […]