On March 29, 1781, the philosopher Immanuel Kant sat at his writing desk in Königsberg, East Prussia, and opened his new book, A Critique of Pure Reason. Spring clouds were building over […]
Of Kant and the Environment
Time for Apricots, Bees and Spiders
Paul Terbasket’s Apricot Tree Has a Visitor
Remember our elders? Remember how resilient they are? https://okanaganokanogan.com/2019/03/28/the-glory-that-is-paul-terbaskets-apricot-tree/ Remember when we went pruning on Paul’s 100+-year-old apricot tree at Blind Creek? Remember how the trees grew and grew, with a chance […]
View Properties in the Okanagan
This is the Head of the Lake. Really, it is the “head” of the “lake”. That’s not a metaphor. It’s a sacred place. People with bulldozers have tattooed it a bit, so […]
The Mystery of Sagebrush Buttercups
This is about as dense as they get. It’s beautiful, but why? What does this do? Or, what limitation creates it?
Thanks, Willow
The bees that will pollinate the Nootka rose in the background here can only do so because of the willow in the foreground. Every year is a journey that starts with willow […]
What is Grass For?
The way we look at grass says a lot about our world. For instance, from a cattleman’s perspective, the bunchgrass below is something to graze. From a longer perspective, it is something […]
Gardens for the Grand Kids: an Organic Model for Slow Release Fertilizer in a Post-Petroleum World
Compost requires labour and tillage. In other words, it is a renewable input. It is one that mimics natural processes, or interjects materials into them. I guess it is a bit like […]
Canada, in Context
First, a Canadian apple tree: Then a Welsh one. Then a Canadian one. Or a bunch, really. Then a Welsh one: Four years old, and the Canadian ones are dying.
The Sly Thing About Fossil Fuels and Farming
The Okanagan Valley is a great place for fences. The concept of taking common land and turning it into private land, and the dispossession of the land’s people that came with it, […]
Okanagan Okanogan 