The ground is rich with opal here. Mostly, it is in thin sheets repairing the splintered rock from the violent collision that made this land. You can read it, though. On the […]
The Magical Language of Opals
Marmot Calls for the Sun
Snow in the morning, snow all last week. Brr. But Marmot has climbed on top of Marmot Rock today, and called the sun. This is a good sign!
March is a Time of Passage, Not a Season
March is neither winter nor spring. Its weather is not its own. Anything can happen this month, and usually does. It’s best to call it an empty space that other seasons pass […]
How Shyness Changes the World
Some hawks tolerate being watched. Some don’t. It’s an example of how observation changes the observed world. I mean, how much of hunting behaviour is dependent upon being undisturbed at rest, or […]
Mountains Are a Form of Weather
I was formed by the water, soil and air of a mountain valley. One of the consequences is that, to me, the mountains are not “in” the sky, do not “block” the […]
Apple Trees Wasting Water
It is said all the time how water efficient orchards have become with trickle irrigation. Maybe not. If these trees were fruiting in the low winter sun, they would only have apples […]
Invasive Weeds Are Beautiful
I think weeds get a bad rap. I’ve never seen native plants pull this off. Beautiful, really. Enough to inspire for an entire year. Even invasive weeds, like knapweed. Maybe it’s not […]
Respect Your Tools
You know, that ladder, made of aluminum, costs a couple hundred bucks, and represents rivers diverted to produce electricity, salmon extirpated, and native peoples stripped of identities and futures. One could, at […]
Towards a New Cartography 8: Mapping Time
A map is a grid of power. You could map the whole valley out into that grid, and you’d have a pretty good idea where things were really happening in modern industrial […]
How to Spot a Coyote
Amazingly, I spotted him first (long after he spotted me.) It was the shape that caught my eye, not his colour. What is amazing about that is that I spotted the female, […]
Okanagan Okanogan 