Welcome to the 21st century! In this century, we’ve finally learned that a grassland is nothing without flowers. Here’s why: That’s right, bees, 500 kinds of wild bees and wasps that live […]
Building the Land With Flowers. Really.
Land Use Regulations, Part 1: How Things Went Wrong
In the environment of the Intermontane Grasslands, in which more and more natural, diverse ecological space is being replaced by simple environments, one could make a strong argument that regulations have actually […]
Back to the Fire
The west shore of Okanagan Lake burnt last summer, amidst the burns of years before. It was a terrible time last summer, but now that the year is in its last hours, […]
Rain in Cascadia is Not the Apocalypse
I just listened to a couple Canadian reporters talk about the stress of reporting on climate change and a hostile Earth firsthand during last months floods here in Northern Cascadia, and how […]
The Evolution of a Dead Planet and What to Do Next
Start with a grassland, maintained in a state of ecological diversity by human care for 5,000 years… …and under human use for 12,000 years. A productive grassland. Then add cattle. Hungry cattle. […]
Earth Weather, Sky Weather and Climate Change
The pictures are everywhere: the terrible washouts of rail lines and highways in the Fraser Canyon, that severed Canada’s third largest city for a week. As you can see in this photo […]
Starvation in the Okanagan
Ah, so green, right? So full of life! Not so great in the grasslands, really. The green is a sign of nitrogen uptake, and this is the season of lichens… They draw […]
Landscaping Your New Home by Hand in the Okanagan
You’ve moved to the Okanagan, and look, your dream home! There’s some gravel and clay to deal with, but don’t you worry about that. If you were here a week ago, you […]
Okanagan Architectural Bloopers, Part 4: Plastic, Imitation and Gravity
Basalt rock breaks into angular shapes, of differing dimensions, according to how it cooled, This is pretty standard for the North Okanagan: These rocks roll naturally down slope and collect in hollows […]
Deer Trail Engineering Question
So here’s a trail the mule deer have cut up a slope above a pumping station in Vernon. They chose an angle of around 20 degrees, except for that steeper bit in […]
Okanagan Okanogan 