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 […]
Sumac and Red Dogwood
What a pair, where the grass and the water meet! Gintys Pond, Cawston, Similkameen Valley
Irrigation the Other Way
Rather than pumps and pipes and all those expensive systems, why not just lay out the land in flats and catch the snow? Because the effects are short-lived? Well, then amplify them. […]
Mule Deer Landscape Architecture and the Architecture of the Human Eye
Note the mule deer trail in the left of this image, at an angle up this gravel pit. That’s a pretty normal angle for a mule deer to go up a slope. […]
If You Lose the Water, You Lose the Land
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 […]
Salt Lake in the Cariboo
Salt Lakes, that live from snow and evaporate in the sun, are terrible for cattle but great for humans, being sacred and all. Long Lake, Canoe Creek Illahie They are a fine […]
How Rain Pushes You Away from Habit
Well, when it falls from the sky, it bends over all the bee-catching people, and covers all other trails. There where rain pools, seed falls. Porcupine grass bends willingly to this pressure. […]
Beautiful Slugs. Yes. Beautiful Slugs on the Dry Hill.
Above this dry hill, the hawks roam. On its crest, the Saskatoons are blooming around old wetlands. The water is just over the hill. Lower down, the water comes in rain now, […]
Thinking with Shadows
Shadows are great. You can walk right through them. You can feel them pass over you like a cool hand. They are the space an object blocks from a source of light, […]
