Note how the two stones below differ. The one in the foreground is rich with lichen, and producing nutrients for life at its base. The one above it, in the upper left […]
The Right Angle for Rocks: Building Resilience
Colonial and Non-colonial Water
As we work to free ourselves from the constrictions placed on the Earth by colonial understandings and allow it to come to life again, it’s good to remember that the very concept […]
Okanagan Landscaping Style Tips for New Immigrants
Yes, that’s an upside-down Moose Crossing sign and a Telus Smart Security Sign as an oar. Or is that a sail? No, the flag is the sail! Look, when you inherit a […]
Solar Water Storage and Capture
Up on the hill, where it is cold, there is snow. There are also rocks, which heat in the sun. The hot rocks melt the snow, making lakes of ice, and then […]
Apples and Dollars and Sense Through a Lens of Fear and Respect
Apple growers are in trouble. The government has a plan. “B.C.’s tree fruit growers play a key role in our province’s food system and our government is committed to the industry’s lasting […]
Race and Apples 9: First Steps to a Better World
The 10+ years of this blog have consistently explored steps to a world beyond racial divisions in this valley, despite its racial history. We have a long way to go, but there […]
Race and Apples 8: Connecting food costs, land prices and white privilege
Before 1923, Indigenous farmers contributed to apple growing in Cascadia in four primary ways: As labourers at such places as the Hudson’s Bay Company gardens at Fort Vancouver, Fort Okanogan, Fort Colville […]
Race and Apples 3: Health, Fruit-Growing and Poison
Apples aren’t as healthy as they used to be. Race has a role in that. A big role, actually. Poor Joseph. Now he’s a hydroelectric dam. Spanning the Columbia right next to […]
Canadian Food Security and Apples
Here’s a question: does growing food in Canada constitute food security? Perhaps there’s a question here of food quality. Take a look at these Royal Gala apple trees. That’s a system designed […]
Maybe Everything’s Not Quite Right with the World, But It’s No Reason to Lie
When I was a boy, back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, Okanagan Lake was as clean as a bottle of Nestlé Water. Not now. Back in the day, you could drink […]
Okanagan Okanogan 