Wasps aren’t just creatures of the air. They ride the waters like sailboats. And what waters! They last a day, then the sun takes them away. But in the meantime, the wasps […]
Wasps at Sea
Green Summer Lightning
Energy building in the sky. Seven hours later, a bolt of lightning arced from the earth to meet it. It’s not so unusual. It happens all the time, in many forms.
The Red Shift of the Sun on Earth
As the sun nears the horizon, the grassland reveals itself. Note the shift of colours towards red. That’s largely because cheatgrass, which has now gone to seed, dominates for a few weeks, […]
Not Every Leaf Gets the Light All The Time
The light received by a tree is the sum total of all its unshaded surfaces. Even shaded leaves receive light, although they operate at far lower intensities. Chinese Elm Shows the Way […]
Grassland Tours for the Okanagan?
Grass evolved to thrive in hot fire landscapes. Given that human activity has increased heat and fire … … across the planet … … shouldn’t we stop mowing grass and … … […]
Bees of the Earth, Flowers of the Air
The double-flowered plum my father planted to give away to friends has found a home here, while he has gone to sea forever. After two years, she has a visitor! I like […]
Between One Moment and the Next in the Slowness of Rain
There is a liminal space between things. The opening of the cottonwoods along the banks of their internal rivers slows in the rain. It holds, as the tree climbs up and down […]
Holding on to Our Water for Dear Life
It’s fun to go out and read the weather by looking down, too. It gives a longer term view. For instance, the really poor shape of the early season cheat grass below […]
Sagebrush Shares Her Water and Builds a World
Have a look at this sage brush: Like all plants, she gathers most of her water from the top surface of the soil, where it is most quickly lost to the dry […]
The Tides Wash Over Turtle Mountain
When plants left the sea for the air… … they didn’t. We live in an intertidal zone. Ah, here comes the first breaker of the tide now… Here’s the surf rolling East […]
