Lichen is a colonizer. It eats rock and releases minerals that other plants can use. Most of the lichen on the stone below has died. It’s a good chance to see the […]
If You Lose the Water, You Lose the Land
Race and Orcharding in British Columbia and Washington
This is the second of three posts about the costs of farming. This one is about the tangle between land and race. The next is about broader environmental and social factors. If […]
Cold and Warm Climate Adaptations 2
Earlier today, I mentioned that we could develop the cold/warm climate adaptations of our grasslands into new technologies, especially if we shed the idea that technology is a gadget-driven art. That would […]
Getting Our Land Back 2: The Local and the Universal
It’s time to begin the work of creating a country to house our ancestors as yet unborn. It is going to take centuries, but if we don’t start now, we never will. […]
The Glory That is Paul Terbasket’s Apricot Tree
In 1915, Paul Terbasket of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band was jailed for disobeying a foolish court order and watering his orchard. One apricot tree remains. His land is leased out to […]
When a Tree Grows Out of Your Head
When I was a young man back in the day, it was commonplace to encounter British writers having an awfully hard time accommodating the blues (for instance) into their writing, without anglifying […]
The Great Artwork
This is what the present looks like. You can see how a 100,000,000 year old seabed, lifted into the sky by a collision with North America and silted up with the drift […]
Okanagan Settlement Then and Now
Okanagan settlement, circa 1900. Nice. Belgian Rubber Money goes a long way. Okanagan settlement, circa 2010. Just as romantic. Global Petro Dollars go a long way! It is a pretty process only […]
Matisse and the Nez Perce
Reading the sky, I’ve just realized, is not a matter of translating the dramatic movements of clouds and light into words or ideas, but reacting to them in the manner of responding […]
The Problem With Canada
Welcome to Canada. The Wild West. Tumbleweeds. Sagebrush. Wild animals in the forests. Beautiful nature. Hi-technology showplace. World class highways. Beautiful Cities. Exciting Street Life. World Class Architecture. Outdoor Recreation. Beautiful! And […]
Okanagan Okanogan 