keco86 – Consumable Earth

Strawflower

By keco86 | August 29, 2024August 29, 2024 by keco86

Helichrysum bracteatum ‘used in traditional medicine to treat cough, back pain, diabetes, asthma, digestive problems, menstrual pain, chest pain, kidney disorders, skin disorders, wounds, open sores, among other conditions’ “some Helichrysum plant parts are either consumed as teas or prepared as “burnt offering” smoke to disinfect the abodes of sick patients and to appeal for blessings from the ancestors in indigenous traditional practices [2]. In general, plants of this genus are known to be used in traditional…

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My 21 year old cat is dying here’s what she taught me about life.

By keco86 | August 27, 2024August 27, 2024 by keco86

Shortly after I came to Kamloops many years ago I got a cat from the SPCA. My daughter picked her out because she came to her seeking affection. Her name was Princess and from the day she came into our lives she was pure love and bad ass-ery.She was an alley cat recued from the streets and plopped into our lives perfectly. She has been my tender companion in my dozens of houses, a van,…

Plants

Ponderosa Pine

By keco86 | March 1, 2024February 28, 2024 by keco86

Scientific name: Pinus ponderosa French name: Pin ponderosa Secwepemc name: s7etqwllppronounced sss et-kw-eech-p Other names: Yellow pine Folklore:How Beaver Stole Fire from the Pine Tree Fun fact: “On a hot day, the bark of the ponderosa pine smells like vanilla and when you break a young twig it smells somewhat like oranges.” BC Gov The bones of these iconic trees are scattered across our dry desert landscapes. The story of their death is traced…

Plants

Birch

By keco86 | February 23, 2024February 28, 2024 by keco86

There are several species of birch in our region with all being part of the Betulacae family which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. The largest and most easily recognized are the paper birch which can reach heights of 30-40m tall. They routinely hybridize with other species of birch, most commonly with water birch which are much smaller and more shrub like. Others are scrub birch aka bog birch and swamp birch aka dwarf birch…

Plants

Rocky Mountain Juniper

By keco86 | February 16, 2024February 25, 2024 by keco86

Plants

Black Cottonwood

By keco86 | February 9, 2024February 25, 2024 by keco86

This tree figures largely in our local landscape it is widespread and extremely common; you already know this plant even if you don’t know its name because of its impact in our everyday lives. If you’ve walked along a riverside trail in the springtime you’ve likely gone home with sticky little shells all over the bottoms of your shoes; they are cottonwood buds. Or later in the spring you’ve probably seen little white tufts of…

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Hedgerows

By keco86 | February 4, 2024February 6, 2024 by keco86

I absolutely love hedgerows. It is one of the best land use practices of the UK and yet didn’t seem to make it over here. Everything else did so I’m not sure why this one didn’t. Probably because it harkens back to pre-industrial agriculture. In case you don’t know a hedgerow is a roughly 10-30m wide patch of dense forest that marks the boundaries between fields and farms. It is generally made up of hazel,…

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Truck Traffic

By keco86 | June 11, 2023June 11, 2023 by keco86

Here in Canada Trucks are regulated both federally but also on a Provincial basis. Which means as you travel across our large country the rules change slightly. I live in BC and many of us speculate that in recent years there are more accidents involving semi-trucks and large vehicles. On a small stretch of highway near my house there is an accident involving a tractor-trailer at least once a month. In February of 2023 there…

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My Top 3 Favorite Travel Notes to Self

By keco86 | March 22, 2023March 22, 2023 by keco86

Those 3 things and these 3 bags and I’m good to go anywhere really. Things I like to bring for travel/hotel rooms… In my Suitcase/Overnight Bag I often (almost always) toss a backpacking air mattress (Exped) and a sleeping bag into my car when I am going somewhere. When it’s cold I include a wool blanket. Honestly it has come in handy so many times. I can usually squish them both in my suitcase if…

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Taxes on Used Goods

By keco86 | December 1, 2022March 14, 2023 by keco86

Recently our Provincial government instituted a tax on used vehicles. The tax is automatic so that when you insure a vehicle with ICBC the tax is automatically applied according to their book value for the car you just purchased. Regardless of what you paid for said car the tax is applied. Now I would love to hear the economic reasoning behind why taxing the sale of used goods benefits the everyday citizen and is an…

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Pricing the Priceless

By keco86 | March 12, 2021February 3, 2024 by keco86

How a 60-year-old treaty cripples the Kootenays The outdated terms and priorities of the Columbia River Treaty (CRT) have limited hydroelectric infrastructure projects in their ability to modernize according to current perspectives of our natural resources and social responsibilities. The CRT was negotiated and signed without any prior consultation with the people who would be impacted or an environmental assessment of what would be lost when the land was flooded[1]. In the 1950s and 60s…

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Conservation and Climate Change

By keco86 | January 25, 2021February 3, 2024 by keco86

The conservation of keystone species throughout the world’s ecosystems could be a valuable, overlooked mechanism to engage communities on the ground action to both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. To conserve a given species is to restore the diverse ecosystem that supports it. Many modern ecosystems are so fragmented due to land-use decisions they no longer provide the habitat necessary to maintain biodiversity. Compounding that issue, the warming of our planet…