At this time of year, when so many of our colourful summer breeding birds are winging their way southwards for the colder months, it is a pleasure to turn our attention to birds that stay here year round. This time let’s focus on our three species of nuthatch, White-breasted, Red-breasted, and...
The Early Days of Okanagan Centre Figure 1:Warf at Okanagan Centre in early Days. Packing house to right. For the first three decades of the twentieth century, Okanagan Centre was the commercial hub of the area. From the late 1800s to the 1930s, Okanagan Centre was one of the main points...
Eyles was born in Bristol, England, in 1925 and joined the Home Guard, the 8th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry at age 17. In 1943 he joined the Royal Navy where he trained as a radar operator. He served on the ships Wessex, Highflyer, Drake, Valkyrie, Golden Hind, Penguin and Venerable. He was...
The life cycle of kokanee is a part of the Okanagan that is visible each year in the fall. When walking down a creek or stream from mid September to mid October, it is hard to miss the bright red fish migrating up. Okanagan Kokanee are unique because one may also see spawning kokanee from mid...
~Marie Molloy Lake Country Museum & Archives in Okanagan Centre is a place for sharing stories and making connections with people past and present. The museum’s collections committee is comprised of a fun group of individuals and it’s hard not to notice how comfortable they are in each other’s...
Don’t call them Seagulls! When we live in a valley with a number of lakes, large and small, as well as ponds, riversand creeks, (not to mention large landfill sites), we are bound to see gulls. Non-birdersoften refer to them as Seagulls. But we have no sea anywhere near us here! Gulls are foundall...
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...
Every so often we receive gifts that are extraordinarily special, and many of the most appreciated don’t come with a hefty price tag. They usually come from very special people. Some of my gifts this year were the much treasured photo album my sister Sharon gave me on my birthday, an...
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...