Dalmation toadflax is a nasty weed (but pretty) and does nothing in the valley (except get eaten by cows who have eaten all the native plants and be a herbal cure and […]
The End of an Invasive Species, or Evolution in Action
Beauty and the Feast
The mountains have bloomed for Easter. Beautiful Arrow-leafed Balsam Root! Beats me why the whole city doesn’t shut down and take to the hills. And yet, for all that gorgeous display, the […]
Between One Moment and the Next in the Slowness of Rain
There is a liminal space between things. The opening of the cottonwoods along the banks of their internal rivers slows in the rain. It holds, as the tree climbs up and down […]
The Language of Opening
In just the way the balsam roots open… … they find the openings made by deer, and I find them. Just as the siya? opens as clusters of flowers, long enough to […]
It’s That Time of the Year, Hurry Hurry Hurry
Gather that grass, then fly the wrong way as a decoy. Then fly, fly, fly! Don’t delay. It’s nesting time. Quick, get at ‘er. ~ With thanks to the starlings.
Valley Energy: the Similkameen Story
In the Similkameen, the mountains are rounded around Cawston, at least to the East. Look how hard they fight to remain horizontal. This is flat country. Note the sharp peaks at the […]
Meaning, Memory, Minding, Mind
Last week, I spoke about Wide Energy. At the end, I showed this image of it from the Similkameen: At the time, I noted: These are the energies that shape us and […]
Wide Energy, or Living in the Sky
Remember when we were in the thick of Thick Energy? That was fun. Willow Thicket from Thick Energy. Today, I’d like to talk about a related form of energy: wide energy. Here’s some […]
Ponderosa Pine’s World
The land has a spirit. You can find it in a dead ponderosa pine. You can find it in a living stone. In the long life record of pine bark and pitch. […]
Two-Headed Guardian On the Old Trail to the Salmon River
The peoples of the Coast have ancestral stories of double-headed serpents, beings of great transformative power. A Kwakwaka’wakw Sisiutl dance mask made of cedar by Oscar Matilpi. Source It would not […]
