Landscaping is hard work. The name says it all: land + scoop, the Old Norse word for fate, the shape one makes of a life by work, the scoop that drains a […]
Settler Culture Going for Broke
Dressing for the Weather in the Okanagan
A couple weeks ago, things were looking pretty poorly up the road, with unseasonable snow.. But now, things are looking up, with unseasonable heat. Always wear a hat. That’s the trick. Right. […]
Gull Island: A New Island in Okanagan Lake
I herby name this new island Gull Island. It has been building for a decade from road sand dumped into BX Creek and carried into the lake at Canim Bay, but now […]
The Six Lessons Of Water and House Building in the Grasslands
Houses in this grassland subdivision are coming in around $1,000,000 dollars these days. I expect this one on the edge of stream bed is little different. Water has some lessons in store […]
Baseball and 4X4s
A couple things from the last ten millennia have seemed worth trying out on the plateau. Canoe Creek Esker and Ball Park Plus a mower. Those are the big contributions of settler […]
How Much Soil Do We Need, Who Gets to Decide, How, and Why?
Today a little tour through democracy in action. Note the two anti-insect bands. Given that a gram of soil continues 1 billion microorganisms, beating out seawater’s 1 million, how much topsoil does […]
Roman Gardens in the Suburban Okanagan
Do you see a storm sewer This wild lettuce sees a future. Welcome to the qanat, the underground river drawing itself from stone, that the Romans spread across the Sahara and the […]
Grass and Death and Life
Isn’t it about time to stop mowing our teachers down? Isn’t about time to honour the great libraries of the grass?
I’m Glad I Never Called Myself a Garden Expert, Whew
For an up-close peek at the inner workings of Canadian culture, have a look at what the Rona Hardware store is offering children to buy their Dads for Father’s Day. I chose […]
Another Tree Triumph at Splatsin
This old apple tree was chopped back to stubs something around ten years ago, and then let grow out. When I came to her, she was so dense you couldn’t see through […]
Okanagan Okanogan 