That is alive, I think that’s easy to agree on. We call it a sedum, drawn up out of soil by the sun. This, too. Like the sedum, this one is self-replicating, hence the […]
Let’s Expand the Notion of “What is Life”
Bull Snake on the Front Porch After Lunch
Literally. It decided to go in (backwards) and finish digesting. Take a look below. This is apparently a great place to spend the winter. If you ever get caught out in […]
Western Yellow-bellied Racer
These are fast snakes. Usually they just zip by, a few inches up in the grass, and you hardly see them, but this one is trail smart, and has mastered the art […]
Marsh Hawk in Trouble
Still strong enough to fly, although not very willing, but that wounded foot is going to make it hard to hunt. I hope it heals quickly. It’s not a reprieve for the rodents, […]
Beautiful Biscuit Root
High above Kalamalka Lake, it is gathering time. Biscuit Root In this old garden of sacred stone (I found an elderly Syilx couple sitting in their car, staring at this, reading […]
The Future of Okanagan Okanogan
We have been on a journey together for three-and-a-half years. In that time, I finished up this blog as a book (twice!), but then I was reading up on a lynching in Conconully, Washington […]
How to Find a Story on the Columbia Plateau
Note the grove of firs in the background here, between the Sinlahekin and Okanogan valleys (well, stories) of Washington. If you walk one way, they are the bristly children a toad is carrying […]
A Bee for Every Flower?
Like all sunflowers, balsam roots bloom in rings, from the outside in, like this. Here’s a bumblebee showing her technique for working this kind of flower. Here’s the brown bee […]
Of Mice and Men
Under the snowdrifts, mice ate between the thorns. On the Columbia River, men try to catch their salmon in the same way. In the second image, however, you can see […]
Why Do Some Fire Hydrants Play Cowboys and Mexicans?
Russian thistle was one of the first weeds from the Russian steppes to destroy the grasslands of the North American West. It became one of the dominant characters in Country & Western music, […]
Okanagan Okanogan 