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 […]
Of Mice and Men
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, […]
When is a Wasp a Flower?
Here’s a wasp on some desert parsley two days ago. Check out the scaly covers of her wings. Here’s a willow on the same day. Note the scaly covers of her […]
When Volcanoes Crumble Flowers Come
When the earth is spoken of in its own terms it becomes poetry and is a language for spirit, like this… When rock catches sun and snow, lupins sprout and sagebrush buttercups and […]
How the West Was Won and Lost
Oh, here we are in the Hanford Reach, where we find a bit of Canadian Water going home. No, wait, it’s American water. No, wait, it’s everyone’s water! Oh, heck, just look… […]
Imagine if Your Country Was A River
Not “all the land around a river” but the river. Not lines on a map drawn to separate armies or to delineate no-fire zones.. A living thing. So were the Wanapum of […]
Why We Need Treaties
I live in a place that illegally occupied land, and signed no treaties for it. Here we are at an old village site on the Commonage Claim above Kalamalka Lake. A parking lot! […]
Pebbles and Leaves of Light
Pebbles. Leaves (well, ovals with a spine). That’s what a ripple on the surface of water can do. Intriguingly, stones are rounded in ripples of water, and leaves, which eat […]
Life is the Edge
… Here’s an image of water, made with light. Here’s an image of light, made by water: Nice game, huh. The real story is that both are edges, at which light […]
Water Brings Time to Life
…One of the moods of water, I suggested yesterday, is life. Here’s another: Okanagan Lake (Looking West towards Ewings Landing) It still looks full of life. Now here is some of it […]
Okanagan Okanogan 