Do you see a storm sewer This wild lettuce sees a future. Welcome to the qanat, the underground river drawing itself from stone, that the Romans spread across the Sahara and the […]
Roman Gardens in the Suburban Okanagan
What to Do When You Lose Your Hat in the Wind
Seriously, out in the shrub steppe it does get windy, and losing a hat is a real thing. The sun can then burn you into a lump of tar. I had a […]
Wild Currants are Ready
What I love about Pacific wild currants is that they taste as dry as the land on a hot day. Their sweetness is pale and their juice minimal, and yet if you […]
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 […]
Fate, Race and Populism in the Third Reich and Cascadia, Part 4 of 5
Two days ago, I took you to the Nimiipu’u and Yakama homelands, to show you the oldest inhabited region in the Americas, as an introduction to a discussion of fate and time […]
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?
Walking Onions
Also called “Egyptian Onions”. Yes, they walk. They’re also the first onions of the year. And that year starts now, as you can see. Bonus: they have a website: Egyptian Walking Onion. […]
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 and Johnny Appleseed
One more time with the positive effects of erosion, just for fun. Back in October 2015, I walked up the hill to see what I could see, with an apple in my […]
Okanagan Okanogan 