This flow… … is mapped as “The Okanogan River.” It is a colonial term, yet certainly not the most egregious. I live near the top of its headwaters. Head of the Lake […]
Decolonizing the “Rivers” of Cascadia
How Pollen Gets Spread Around On a Fine Spring Day
The process of spreading pollen among pine trees when the wind isn’t blowing is simple but energy intensive. Now, can you imagine having that kind of power? (He asks, as the […]
Bees of the Earth, Flowers of the Air
The double-flowered plum my father planted to give away to friends has found a home here, while he has gone to sea forever. After two years, she has a visitor! I like […]
Images Beyond Life and Death
Last year’s wild cherries meet this year’s blossoms. How cool is that! Let’s remember that a fascination with death and rebirth is often a cultural inheritance from our celtic ancestors and that […]
The Great Run That Needs No Other Name
Welcome to the great run of the West. This band of energy that is materialized here as water descends in a lost mid-Pacific rift zone of such power that 10,000 kilometres of […]
Mourning Cloak Lays Her Eggs
Who said Chinese elms have no place here, eh. It wouldn’t be spring without the mourning cloaks! In the Similkameen they are deep purple, the colour of spring catkins. Here in the […]
The Power of Shadows
Butterflies are shadows. Simple to prove. Here’s a leaf shading rock. And a whole flock of shadow butterflies. They’re not the only shadows. The Síya? twigs below are shadows of the past. […]
The End of an Invasive Species, or Evolution in Action
Dalmation toadflax is a nasty weed (but pretty) and does nothing in the valley (except get eaten by cows who have eaten all the native plants and be a herbal cure and […]
Between One Moment and the Next in the Slowness of Rain
There is a liminal space between things. The opening of the cottonwoods along the banks of their internal rivers slows in the rain. It holds, as the tree climbs up and down […]
It’s That Time of the Year, Hurry Hurry Hurry
Gather that grass, then fly the wrong way as a decoy. Then fly, fly, fly! Don’t delay. It’s nesting time. Quick, get at ‘er. ~ With thanks to the starlings.
