It’s that time of year! An Old Tradition Hangs On Despite the infill of subdivisions, old habits of spring burning aren’t dead yet. The bigger the flames the better, it seems. Sun […]
Bad Green Good Brown
Somebody got the idea that plants filter water and stabilize slopes. That’s true, but it’s only part of the story. What plants are really doing is living. In terms of work, the […]
Hints at a New Science of Life
The science of botany got its start in plant classification and botanical gardens. Because of that, contemporary human understanding of plant communities largely revolves around species and their interactions. The results can […]
Hawthorns in Danger of Extirpation
Somebody read that hawthorns grow wild here. Domestic varieties show up in low-water gardening just about everywhere, with their pretty pink flowers and their red berries for the birds. Full marks for […]
Hi-Tech Water
Trees don’t always need much water. Here’s an apple tree that is doing very fine, thank you very much, without irrigation: Apple Tree Standing Like a Horse in a Field Coldstream Ranch […]
Sour Dates
They might be called russian-olives, and they might look and taste like sour, sawdusty olives, but they’re really dates, and they are weeds. They wreck ecosystems, displace native species, reduce environmental diversity, […]
Standing Still
A long time ago, orcharding started in the Okanagan when Lord Aberdeen and Lady Aberdeen planted the Coldstream Ranch with fruit so they could make jam and compete with these folks from the old […]
Accidental Art
A lot of art takes place out of doors. Here, for example, is a lovely spring ritual that can colour up even the windiest day: Springtime Apple Heave Ho Spartans and Granny […]
Smart Architecture
Architecture is an art that balances functionality, beauty, innovation and tradition. It gives us stuff like this: American Robin Summer House, Keremeos Grass and mud living quarters, decorated with binder twine and resting […]
Making Light of Gravity
Gravity is the point at which the energy of the universe touches the earth. We should be able to use that. Who needs fossil fuels. Here, for example, is the energy that […]
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