Here under Cipak, the sacred mountain of the Similkameen, the maiden wearing her wedding veil at this time of year and the eastern toe of the Cascades, lies a grassland without weeds, […]
The Last Great Grassland
In the Grasslands, Tiny Effects Aren’t Tiny at All
When I was working on the Spirit in the Grass book with photographer Chris Harris, one of the ecologists on the project told me that the effects of sun and shadow at […]
The Gift Culture of the Grasslands
Flax is beautiful. The seeds grow heavy and lower the seed to the ground. Mice eat the seed there. And then it lifts up again, through the snow! These aren’t seeds that […]
Rototilling 101
First, plant some flowers. Watch them grow. Nice, eh! Bees will burrow into the soil and lay their eggs. Nicer yet! Voles will come and root around, as voles will do. By […]
The Dance of the Deer and the Pines
Oyama Not only is every ponderosa pine here a vertical column, rather than a star of branches as it appears to human eyes, and not only does it create a zone under […]
Pine Grass: Fighting Fire with Fire
Pine grass is really cool stuff. It does what grass does, which is to say it grows up, but then it falls over. It doesn’t break its stalks to do so, and […]
A Tree Doesn’t Have to Be in the Sky
Its leaves don’t have to be its “own.” Or even “leaves.” Someone is always happy to have a trunk. You could say that “trees build trunks for others.” You could.
Rainbow Trout: Birds of the Water
There is light rain And heavy rain. And green rain. And rain in multiple colours. And no rain! That is what trees do. The little fish of the lake appreciate it. […]
How Much Soil Do We Need, Who Gets to Decide, How, and Why?
Today a little tour through democracy in action. Note the two anti-insect bands. Given that a gram of soil continues 1 billion microorganisms, beating out seawater’s 1 million, how much topsoil does […]
Siya? the Weaver
Siya? became the food chief by volunteering in an old story. She continues to volunteer, by offering fruit. She wants us to take it, so we will spread her seeds. One of […]
Okanagan Okanogan 