After thinking about water yesterday, and how it is moved from place to place with the sun’s heat, which it stored and gave back again under the soil surface, I went to […]
Poetic Light
Water Footprint
The term “water footprint” is part of the vocabulary of the green revolution. It is used to describe the amount of water used by an activity. I’ve recently heard the suggestion that […]
The Earth is Alive
We are not alone. This is fantastic news. Burrow in the Valley It looks like the resident is at home, too, waiting out the months of bad hunting. Such times of rest […]
Adding and Subtracting Value
Words are curious things. Here are two, often used together by government and industry: value and added. Together they indicate a concept by which an area of production (vegetable growing, perhaps) can […]
Our Pack Leader
For ten years my friend and tracker Winston and I went out every day into the world. In all, we walked 15,000 kilometres of this planet together, and when I slipped on […]
Xeriscaping Alternatives
It’s all the buzz these days: xeriscaping. It’s a big name for a kind of landscaping that conserves water. Where do you start? It’s easy. You have your new home in the […]
Wild Harvest
Since farmland prices in the Canadian Okanagan has been pushed to dizzy heights by the scarcity created by the International Border between Osoyoos and Oroville, and no young person can farm anymore […]
Ice Wine Harvest
Yesterday, the grapes came in to be pressed for the 2011 ice wine vintage. The temperature dropped down to Minus 11 here in Vernon and stayed cold all day. Here’s the local […]
Terroir
Terroir is an ancient wine-making term that defines a wine by the soil and sun exposure on which it is grown. Surprisingly, it is contentious. Beats me why. Terroir for All to […]
King of the Grass
I was out on the Commonage today, south of Vernon and above Kalamalka Lake, and found some Giant Wild Rye Grass growing on the road margins of a riparian area. The tallest […]
Okanagan Okanogan 