Here’s a native black hawthorn. Quite a lovely tree. And here’s the decorative replacement in the subdivision up the hill. Yeah, all of its 2 dozen sisters, and all of its branches […]
This is How Far We Have to Go
The Not-So-Solid Earth
Here, right at the join between Fairview and Sicamous bedrocks, the floor of our Earth, the ground we stand on, shows just how unsolid it is. “Bedrock” conjures up stability, but look […]
Starvation in the Okanagan
Ah, so green, right? So full of life! Not so great in the grasslands, really. The green is a sign of nitrogen uptake, and this is the season of lichens… They draw […]
Eagle and Turtle Tell a Bigger Story Now
Nine years ago, I showed you some of the sights of Turtle Mountain in the North Okanagan, and shared my theory that the syilx story of Turtle and Eagle is linked to […]
North Okanagan Terroir
It puzzled me for a long time, what terroir means in the minds of winemakers in the Okanagan. After all, they say it means the expression of the land and its aspect […]
It’s Not Really Your Choice to Make
We can view this peninsula as the head of a turtle. Or we can view it as a lump of rock that reminds us, childishly, of a turtle, or just as a […]
Is This a Hermit Thrush?
News Flash: this is a rock wren, two readers have told me. Very cool. Well, my birding friends, what do you think? It was a little shy, a little friendly, and has […]
The Colours of the Okanagan
Forget summer. We spend half the year within cloud that is the breath of the lake held in the air by pressure off the mountains and the sea. If you’re going to […]
Drug Culture in the Okanagan
It is a complex world, that fully engages the mind. Patterns of lines, colour, shape, intensity and contrast are a natural environment for humans, and match the organization of our brains, nerves […]
Naked Wasp Nest
Now, haven’t the yellow jackets been busy under the protective sagebrush. No need for a protective paper shell, well, until the earth trickles away. Sagebrush is such a great host, drawing up […]
Okanagan Okanogan 