September 17, 2022 On a lovely September Day Virginia and Peter Palma kindly hosted a gathering of Kobayashi Descendents to dedicate their beautifully renovated home to the Kobayashi family. This kind gesture was appreciated by four generations of the family, who were represented at this lovely...
Flooding is common in the Okanagan. Our post ‘Flooding in Lake Country’ touches on this, as we noted how flooding occurred nearly every year in the early 1900s. In 1908, the Oyama canal was built, connecting Wood Lake and Kalamalka Lake. This lowered the lakes’ water levels, which one may think...
Kokanee, a form of landlocked salmon, are Indigenous to the Okanagan and at one time were abundant within Okanagan and Wood Lake. Kokanee adapted from sockeye salmon, who migrated from the Columbia River approximately 10,000 years ago after the last ice age. Once damming became prominent in the...
John Brixton, commonly known as the Colonel, was born in 1870 in England. He led a life full of adventure, leaving behind an incredible story. At approximately 16 years old he jumped on a merchant ship, the S.S. Sarmatian, headed for New York, where he would join the US army. He did not agree with...
Written by Deana Asham. Named after the shape of its leaves, arrowleaf balsamroot is an Indigenous species to the Okanagan Valley. Being part of the same family as the sunflower, Asteraceae, they share a similar appearance; however, they flower slightly earlier than other members of their subtribe...
In our spring posting we took a close look at the three species of Grebe that spend their entire year here, changing plumage into breeding ‘duds’ each spring. Today we’ll focus on the two species that migrate here to breed during our summer. These are the Western Grebe and the Eared Grebe. Western...
The Vernon to Kelowna Bike Race in the 1930’s was instigated by a local bike shop to promote their store. Biking at the time was growing as an important sport in the Okanagan Valley with the development of new roads and pathways, particularly the development of Highway 97 which the race was held...
Here are some pictures of one of the oldest and original houses in Okanagan Centre still in existence. This home at the bottom of Camp Road was built by a German immigrant builder in 1889, so we were told, who shortly thereafter returned back to the old country. The home was subsequently owned...
lease note: Scott is referring to an amazing glass column soil sample that is located on display at the Museum. Stop by the Museum to view the sample and experience an informative tour on Lake Country’s Wine Culture. The soil in the glass column was collected from the O’Rourke’s Peak...
Three Grebes In past postings we’ve looked at many of the ducks that can be seen in our valley annually. Today let’s look at another family of diving birds, the grebes. Five species of grebe come to the Okanagan annually, plus one more occasionally, but only three are here in winter, and those are...
Four Owls Winter is undoubtedly the best season in which to see owls. This is partly because many trees are bare, enabling better sightings, if you are lucky. But it’s also because in winter some of the owls that usually breed and hunt in the upper forests come down occasionally to the valley...
In 2018 I was working as a volunteer at Mackie Lake House in Coldstream researching some of the artifacts. One of the artifacts that I was researching and trying to provenance was a beautiful, wall mounted artists jewel case designed by the famous Victorian period architect and designer William...