In my valley, the Okanagan, winter is a time for the earth and the ocean — and the people who actually love the land and not an image of it. It’s not […]
It’s Better Than Migrating: The New World of Winter
Just hanging out in the snow… … with these other robins … … with friends … … blending in with the maple spinners … … and a flicker … … and a […]
Global Warming, Human Made
It ain’t just smokestacks. Here’s a field of stones … The panels were made to cover with plastic sheeting (now removed), into which were planted tomatoes. Here are some of them, looking […]
The Black Cherries of Winter
It is the time of year when colour leaves the valley. The red choke cherries of summer are black. The skies are grey. The sun we knew in summer is gone. This […]
The Lonely Vigil of the Plastic Owl
2 weeks ago, the plastic owl was at her stand. It was mid-afternoon. She was still there yesterday at dusk, poor plastic thing. When I was a boy, owls used to hunt around […]
Three Ways to Make Soil
One: You will need a poplar tree to drop yellow leaves on the ground. Leave them. Let it rain, freeze, thaw and snow in intervals. Two months later, drop one green leaf on top. […]
The Ripest of Roses
Nootka roses are pink when they bloom and red when they ripen.The leaves ripen into orange and yellow. The canes ripen to purple. Even the yellow which we, as humans, see at this time of […]
Grass and Poetry in Cascadia
The grass is a cultural being. So are cat tails and so is poetry. Talk about a rhyme scheme, eh! First, the grass. Not only does it have its own culture, but […]
The Beauty of Spring in November
In November, in Cascadia, it is springtime, whether you are in the wetlands on an island in the ocean … Oyster Bay, Vancouver Island … or far inland, in the grasslands, where […]
Ripeness
Spring is great, but look at ripeness! Sumac and filbert meet the earth. Oh my.
Okanagan Okanogan 