By accident, we have turned our hills into giant gold sluices. Road Gutter, Okanagan Landing Note how it very efficiently sorts gravel out from water. The water is lost to the ecosystem, […]
There’s Gold in The Hills
Harold Rhenisch
www.haroldrhenisch.com
Pussy Willows and Land for All
Welcome to the road ditch: a prime spring habitat. First, to an Okanagan Indian Band ditch… Pussy Willow Preparing to Bloom Imagine the sound of cars roaring past behind your back, and […]
The Joke is On Us
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 […]
Okanagan Okanogan 