To be close to the spirit of a birch, touch it. Grow still. To view it more quickly, look into the water. There it loses its stillness … … and you gain […]
The Spirit of the Paper Birch
Needle-and-Thread Grass in Flower
You know there is a little bit of the grassland left when you find some needle-and-thread grass on a hill. It’s almost invisible, but when the light is right, in the low […]
Grassland Tours for the Okanagan?
Grass evolved to thrive in hot fire landscapes. Given that human activity has increased heat and fire … … across the planet … … shouldn’t we stop mowing grass and … … […]
The Invitations of Helen Humphreys’ Beautiful and Troubling Book “The River”
It’s a beautiful book. Designed, by the looks of it, to be sold as a gift shop memento, Victorian perhaps. Note the trompe d’oeil of the bug on the cover, which takes […]
How Pollen Gets Spread Around On a Fine Spring Day
The process of spreading pollen among pine trees when the wind isn’t blowing is simple but energy intensive. Now, can you imagine having that kind of power? (He asks, as the […]
Bees of the Earth, Flowers of the Air
The double-flowered plum my father planted to give away to friends has found a home here, while he has gone to sea forever. After two years, she has a visitor! I like […]
Images Beyond Life and Death
Last year’s wild cherries meet this year’s blossoms. How cool is that! Let’s remember that a fascination with death and rebirth is often a cultural inheritance from our celtic ancestors and that […]
The Thing About Leaves
Leaves don’t hang from trees and trees don’t look like this: They look like this: Cottonwood Leaves are drawn out of the trees by the sun. Gravity might pull them down … […]
The End of an Invasive Species, or Evolution in Action
Dalmation toadflax is a nasty weed (but pretty) and does nothing in the valley (except get eaten by cows who have eaten all the native plants and be a herbal cure and […]
Beauty and the Feast
The mountains have bloomed for Easter. Beautiful Arrow-leafed Balsam Root! Beats me why the whole city doesn’t shut down and take to the hills. And yet, for all that gorgeous display, the […]
