In just the way the balsam roots open… … they find the openings made by deer, and I find them. Just as the siya? opens as clusters of flowers, long enough to […]
The Language of Opening
The Many Faces of Smúkwaʔxn, or The Birth of the Sun
Arrow-Leafed balsam root (smúkwaʔxn) has her private moments. Here, she is bringing a crop of suns out of the earth. Smúkwaʔxn has her public moments, too. The suns are mature a couple days […]
The First Petal of the First Blossom of the Sun
It’s a good day for arrow-leafed balsam roots. They have come fast (in two days). If you hurry, there’s still time for some fine steamed sprouts. Their menthol flavour is not yet […]
Quince Doesn’t Mind the Cold
Perhaps this is why she moved north long before peach and apricot, apple and pear, or maybe the monks who carried her along were big on thorns, blood and blooms. Symbolism can […]
Unity
The sun comes down to earth… … grows bright …. … fades … …and then the sky … … comes down to earth… … and begins immediately… … to climb back up. […]
Perhaps Calling it a Grassland is a Bad Idea
I mean, look. Bella Vista Hills
Four Seasons at Once in the Valley
While the Okanogan and the Okanagan celebrate spring … … for some, really, the petals are withering away and it is early summer. For others it is fall. For yet others, it’s […]
The Miracle of Water
The big sage that held water for years against the pull of the sun, and grew thick with time, now holds water and earth in place by stopping the wind in its […]
The Story of the Bee and the Cactus
Welcome to the green pistil of the brittle prickly pear cactus flower!They don’t bloom every year, but they sure have a green heart! And the sweat bee dives in head first. Perhaps […]
Don’t Mess With the Earth, I Say
Some people look at the flax, that used to keep people clothed in the cold, and think, “My, that makes life worth living.” And other people just whack it down. […]
Okanagan Okanogan 