When harvest season starts in the snow in late February, with crops planted in mid-August the year before, the valley’s true seasons reveal themselves quite simply. Spring, for instance, took place in […]
Summer Draws to a Close in the Okanagan
Mariposa Lily Has a Visitor (or two)
It’s always an adventure to see who comes to dance… … and then, after making the circuit … … half-drugged, stumbles out… Good times for all!
Evolution in Action
Not all invasive species are trouble. When the land is stripped of life and turned into dust, cheatgrass and sagebrush, the swallowtails seek out alfalfa that has escaped from nearby farms. Western […]
The Universe Underfoot
The mysteries of the universe are not mysterious. They tell their stories far and wide. Look at the infertile serviceberry fruits dropped for the mice on the deer and coyote trail up […]
Grass and Death and Life
Isn’t it about time to stop mowing our teachers down? Isn’t about time to honour the great libraries of the grass?
Big Black Bee
It’s a safe bet that this grassland bee didn’t evolve to harvest dandelion nectar. I’d say it’s improvising because its host is absent. A sitting duck for birds, too. Perhaps, though, it […]
Erosion Can be a Healing Force
The abandoned gravel pit. Note the erosion. Note how the rock is sorted down slope around a nascent stream channel. The clays have settled out of the water below where the land […]
Asters Looking Out for Each Other
In the very place where big sage (an aster) … … makes a sun of heat in the winter and melts the snow (bringing on summer two months early) … … … […]
Beautiful Wasp
She’s not very big, but she sure is beautiful! About 12 or 13 mm long, I’d say. The early bees took a beating in the winter, but later pollinators have fared better. […]
To Reclaim Land Start With the Flowers
Cheatgrass is everywhere. Almost. Where cheatgrass doesn’t get a hold, flowers grow. Many flowers. Many many flowers. Note that there is little gras of any kind. This is the Earth reclaiming a […]
