I live in an exotic landscape on a planet whirling through solar space, in which every greenhouse has a heating system pointed straight at the sun, to melt water and get things […]
How to Beat Global Warming By Turning the Grasslands Upside Down
Water has a surface tension. It divides light into bands of energy. It keeps some and sends more away, but not evenly. So does mullein. In mullein’s case, it covers its pulpy, […]
The Teachings of Water
When I look into the water I see blurred shapes. Or do I? Are they not, rather, revealed ones? Is this not a message from my body? Is it not the intersection […]
Qanats for the Okanagan
Late afternoon in the grasslands. November. Light’s almost gone. Cloud everywhere. Nothing much to look at here. Zzzz. Or, maybe there is. Have a look just down the trail. The guys building […]
25% of Fruitgrowing Agricultural Productive Capacity in the Okanagan is Wasted
Here’s an industrial apple plantation after harvest. The trees are in long rain rows to facilitate mechanized farming, using multi-ton tractors and spraying equipment (combined weight of about 5 tonnes). After harvest, […]
Fall Rain in the Grasslands
So, it rains, right. 35 centimetres of snow have already melted. Now the rain. Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. And the sun. Melting stuff, even through the clouds of rain. So, […]
Saying the Names Shanty Makes the CBC Poetry Prize Shortlist
The journey you have been walking with me on this blog is making its way further out into the world. What great news! CBC Books has announced its shortlist for the 2017 […]
Defying Gravity
Water can pool on near vertical surfaces. If it has a little help. Moss transforming a vertical surface into a series of horizontal ones Bella Vista Hills A lake doesn’t have to […]
Imagine the Technological Possibilities!
Imagine if you could regulate heat loss and roof melting simply by switching from a flat roof to a roof covered in river rock, or a lightweight approximation of it. The insulating […]
Predicting the Weather
The unrelieved heat and dryness of the summer has led to the outcome predicted by those of us who have lived in this valley for a couple generations of memory, or more. […]

