I’ve been staring at this beaver lodge for years. Big Bar Creek I thought at first, well, yes, it’s a good model for a house. And sure enough, the Secwepemc who are this land […]
A Home In the Earth and the Sun: The Beginnings of an Urban Blueprint
The Medicine of Fall Colours
I’ve been thinking of “fall colours.” These pale greens, for instance. Or these pale. yellows, oranges, purples and pinks… and pale greens. Look, though, how the undercover is bright and lush. That’s […]
In Praise of the Interior Douglas Fir, Tree of Memory
The Interior Douglas fir, now that’s a lovely tree. Look at her standing up high in the dawn at Big Bar Lake. Red Squirrels, pileated and downy woodpeckers, sharp-shinned hawks, bald eagles, […]
How Water Works
A leaf falls in the water. It does not sink. We say it “floats,” but for the leaf below that’s not really it. It’s more like it is gripped by the surface […]
Hide in Plain Sight!
Want to avoid being seen? Be a knot hole. Hey, it beats hanging out under the bark. Downy Woodpecker can hear you under there. Be bold! Hide in plain sight. Pretend to […]
Light and Shadow Going on Forever
Light is very interesting to humans, but so is the lack of light. Here is some of both I found under an elm. I’m intrigued by the idea that this shade is […]
What the Raven of the Marble Mountains Knows
The eye gives the illusion of bringing distance close, but the raven knows more. Bushwhacking ingrown grasslands gets you nowhere fast. If you had to survive off this land, really survive, you’d light a […]
June: Deep Autumn in the Grasslands
On open hills in the grassland, it is Autumn now. At the bottom of the slopes where water collects among cattails and wild lettuce, too. In a couple weeks will come the […]
No Mulch or Tillage on This Soil, Please
A living skin, however, is what the climate of the grasslands east of the coastal stratovolcanoes calls for. Anything else is quite the ongoing struggle. Whew. Save your back, eh!
Waiting for the Stone to Flow
Many times, the Earth has opened and stone has flowed across this county. Many times, trees have come and set down soil, only to be burned away again. The baked red Earth […]
