Just look at the heat of the sun in the leaves and the cool water of the earth flowing through the warm inner bark of this tree. Let’s teach our children to […]
Leaves of the Sun, Limbs of the Earth
Understanding Nature
This field of swiss grain above Lake Constance is a good example of the kind of conversations humans have with the earth. This represents technology brought from Asia to Europe and used […]
The World as a Decorative Object
Willow, Lake Constance Formal gardens transform the earth into a system of social arrangement. Relaxed gardens, the English gardens of the 18th and 19th centuries and their heirs, recreate this social arrangement […]
Nature and the Grave
Nature is a grave. That is an important point of Christianity, but not of the intermontane cultures of the North American West. What is in the grave is another matter. That is […]
What is Nature?
Stein am Rhein It is not to be confused with the Earth or the biosphere. That is to continue the white shaming of the earth that plagues North America. Sometimes “nature” is […]
Open and Closed Air in Indigenous Switzerland
In Zurich, this is nature. A sobering thought. Or, rather, it is a school sports field. Note the tree. It is placed where there is room. Note as well the aesthetic, architectural […]
When Celts Become Christians
Beauty happens. Stein am Rhein, Switzerland
The Ripeness of Colour
The emotional colourings of trees and the balance between these colourings can be very beautiful. This form of art is as much a garden harvest as any other. In this case, the […]
Whose Land is This Anyway?
No-one’s. The question is absurd. It’s not land. It’s earth. One can ask for room, not ownership. You can’t own Earth. She gives everyone room. A request for land is a request […]
A Short History of Whiteness in Cascadia
It’s not a physical thing. Apricot in Her White Gown White is a tricky, racial word. Here’s a small piece of a meditation on it from my book in progress, Commonage: The […]
Okanagan Okanogan 