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Tuesday, July 29, 2025 at 8:38 PM

High Desert Dirt—The Raven’s Rant

High Desert Dirt—The Raven’s Rant

Author: Jaime Sammons

Spring Equinox this year in our hemisphere falls on Sunday, March 20 in contrast to meteorological spring that began on March 1st. You might also see it called the vernal equinox. It marks a cherished calendar date for gardeners, the time of year that more daylight returns to our lives. You might remember from your science classes, the equinox marks the sun rising due east, setting due west. We’ve always been taught equinox is equal day and equal night. Technically, we actually get a tad more daylight, due to the atmospheric refraction. The return of daylight is celebrated worldwide in many cultures. I was just reading about the equinox celebrations at the sun pyramids in both Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza, Mexico. The Holi Festival of love, color, and spring in India is right around this time as well. You probably have seen pictures of massive crowds enthusiastically throwing colorful powders around. Spring is a colorful time and it should be celebrated. Speaking of colorful, my apricot trees are blooming, and I saw a forsythia shrub blooming the other day. It is always a beautiful harbinger of spring, covered in bright yellow flowers - wait for it, that you can eat. I should note they are a little bitter raw, but you can make a lovely golden simple syrup for your pancakes out of them. Don’t forget forsythia blossoms are a reminder it is time to apply pre-emergent to help stop your unwanted weeds from germinating. Personally, I look for the organic ones that have a corn gluten base.

I also felt my heartbeat pick up a bit when I saw a few snowdrops blooming in a friend’s garden the other day. Snakeshead Fritillaria, ornamental alliums, and the flowers of other fall-planted bulbs are just around the corner. You can dig up and divide those bulbs and corms after the green leaves have started to turn brown in early summer. Be sure to add some fertilizer and compost to the new planting areas.

The full moon that happens on March 18 this year is sometimes called the Worm Moon for good reason. Earthworms are beginning to appear and not coincidentally singing robins as well. My favorite flock of turkey vultures will appear in the gigantic cottonwoods on Drumm Lane any day now. I read when they hang out in trees, wings spread in the sun, the proper term for them is a wake, a committee, a venue, or even a volt. You’ll start to see them kettling around the valley soon, rising high above the town in spiraling thermal updrafts.

There is still time to place your conservation sale orders. If you didn’t put Nanking Cherry on your list, go back and add it. Finish up your tree pruning if you haven’t already, and you might start pruning back perennials, shrubs, and grasses. Bird food is scarce this time of year, consider putting out some chow and clean water for your feathered friends. Above all, I encourage you to plan your own equinox celebration. We all need more to celebrate these days.

Jaime Sammons carries a pair of pruners in her glove box – just in case, and believes you can be a gardener even with a single plant container on your porch.

 

 


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Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I knew Sam as a member of our church growing up. He always had a warm smile, a kind word, and a great sense of humor! He will be great missed!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:57 AMComment source: Obituary -- Samuel Bruce WickizerComment author: Mike HinzComment text: Great teacher, great coach, but even a better person!!! Rest in peace Mr. BeachComment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:53 AMComment source: Obituary -- Jack Victor Beach, Jr.Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I had Mrs Hedges for First Grade at Northside Elementary in 1969. I still, to this day, remember her as a wonderful teacher…one of my favorites!!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:29 AMComment source: Obituary - Nancy Marie Hedges C Comment author: Carl C. HagenComment text: What are MFNs and PBMs ?? ............................ From the editor: This is a very good question and we apologize for not catching that wasn't in there. We reached out to the writer/submitter and got this info back...hope it's helpful. PBM: Pharmacy Benefit Managers are pharmacies that are owned by insurance companies. (CVS is one.) They negotiate with drug makers to get reduced pricing for medications, but they historically have not passed along those savings to patients. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/pharmacy-benefit-managers-staff-report.pdf MFN: Most Favored Nation pricing is a policy that means a country agrees to offer the same trade concessions (like tariffs or price reductions) to all member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). When applied to pharmaceuticals, it could disrupt global access, deter innovation, and obscure the deeper systemic issues in American health care. https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2025/05/22/the-global-risks-of-americas-most-favored-nation-drug-pricing-policy/Comment publication date: 6/23/25, 7:47 AMComment source: L E T T E R TO THE EDITOR
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