When the US Army cleared all White settlers, drifters, and missionaries out of Washington Territory during the Yakima War (1855-1858), many of them ended up at Fort Colville, at Kettle Falls on the […]
The Real Old West
Another Preying Mantis
I went up onto Turtle mountain today, to explore an ancient stone eagle. And who did I find? Preying Mantis, Turtle Mountain Sculptural Assemblage She’s half the size of […]
Real Estate Hangover
Tired of the colour of your lawn? The Colour of Lawn Fertilizer The perfect blend of golf course, Eastern Canadian bedrock, and Arizona. Good for selling houses, but then you wake up […]
Just the Right Number of Trees
In the grasslands, one is enough. One Ponderosa Pine Perfect It gives ants a world, lightning a chance to grab onto something (lightning likes that), deer a dry bed, and birds a […]
Returning from the Fire
The fire burns through, turning the land to dust and ash, and then, a month later, at the end of summer, it’s spring. Bunchgrass Coming Back All I can say is, it […]
Raven Glee
Went up to the fire, and who did I find? Raven Checking Me Out We talked. The thing about ravens is that we can’t see them. Only the spot where they are […]
There is No Such Thing as Wilderness (Unless We Make it So)
In a land that was heavily populated and culturally farmed for 6000 years, only in the last 160 years, the time of European, American and Canadian colonization, has there been wild life. […]
Cheating Weeds Out of their Day in the Sun
There is a new invader in the Okanagan and the Okanogan, our two homelands that are one. It is rush skeleton weed, and it has the potential to wreck stuff. Stuff like balers and […]
Oops a Daisy
In books, irony is delightful. In the world, not always quite so much. As I pointed out a couple weeks back, a new biological weapon against Spotted Knapweed, the plant that Satan […]
Sprouting a Future Without Water
This beautiful valley is running out of water. There are many culprits, and not all of them the usual suspects. Today, I’d like to talk about one small solution, which entails using […]
Okanagan Okanogan 