Red Lake

y'e snyak'ʷqin u wičn łuʔ ikʷil čłq'li.
t nk'ʷuʔ qʷu cuys t in yeyeʔ u 

t'ey'eʔ łuʔ čłq'liʔ sl'axts. 

The Kalispel's River at Sunrise

axla hec k'ʷul'stn l' qlispeʔ st'ulixʷs, u lše u hec q'iʔstes łuʔ q'iʔq'iʔmin l' nqlispelišcn xʷl sccmelt. kʷtunt in xmenč łu i sck'ʷul'. nkʷtnaqsm łuʔ qe sck'ʷul'. yec yoʔnunm łuʔ hiqs xstwilšm łuʔ in nqʷlqʷeltn u lšey' m xest xʷl qe sxʷsixʷlt. 

in xmenč łu qlispeʔ st'ulixʷs. qʷamqʷmt. 

*

Every day I go to Kalispel country, and there I am writing books in the Kalispel language for children. I love my work. Our work is important. I am learning to improve my language so it will be good for our children. 

I love the Kalispel country. It is beautiful. 

*

Cada día, voy al país Kalispel, y allí estoy escribiendo libros en el idioma Kalispel para niños. Amo mi trabajo. Es importante nuestro trabajo. Estoy aprendiendo a mejorar mi idioma y así será mejor para nuestros hijos. 

Amo el país Kalispel. Es hermoso. 

The Visitor

My friend Tim and I were having breakfast at his home when a black bear arrived on the lawn. The bear passed through the children's toys and walked right up to the window. A moment later, it walked up to the front porch, where only a screen door separated us from one another. The bear heard us and ran away. It circled around the house and then ran down the driveway. 

A little while later, Tim got some plaster casts of the bear prints in the sand. It was a little eerie to stand so close to a bear, but I count it as one of the more amazing experiences of my life. 

The Bridges of Cannon Hill

I wish I had gotten a picture of the old man who spoke to my family. I wish I had gotten his name. 

My family and I took a picnic the other day at Cannon Hill Park on the South Hill of Spokane. We have always loved that park for its beautiful green trees and stone bridges. 

As we were eating our picnic lunch, and old man stood a ways off and started telling us a story without any introductions. He said that he was almost 100 year old, and that he has lived in this neighborhood his whole life. When he was a young boy, these stone bridges were not just decoration; they were actually necessary because a system of ponds and streams once flowed beneath them. He used to catch crawdads in that stream, and people from the city would come up and buy them for a penny a piece. Green grass grows where the water once flowed. 

The old man told his story, then simply walked away. 

I felt so happy and grateful to hear his story, but then I immediately regretted not getting his name. I would love to hear more about his life and the history of our city. 

*

Hubiera tomado una foto del hombre viejo que le habló a mi familia. Hubiera preguntado su nombre. 

Con mi familia, hicimos un picnic el otro día en el Parque de Cannon Hill en Spokane. Siempre nos ha gustado visitar ese parque por sus bellos árboles verdes y sus puentes de piedra. 

Mientras comíamos, un hombre viejo se paró a una distancia corta y empezó a contar su historia sin ninguna introducción. Dijo que casi tiene los 100 años, y que ha vivido en ese vencindario toda su vida. Cuando era joven, los puentes no eran simples adornos, sino que eran necesarios porque había un sistema de estanques y arroyos naturales que fluían debajo de los puentes. En ese tiempo, pescaba cangrejos de río allí mismo en el arroyo, y la gente de la cuidad llegaba a comprarlo por un centavo cada uno. La grama ahora crece donde el agua antes fluía. 

Cuando el anciano terminó su historia, simplemente se fue. 

Me sentí tan agradecido escuchar su historia, pero inmediatemente me arrepentí por no preguntar su nombre. Me hubiera gustado escuchar más de su vida y de la historia de nuestra ciudad. 

Quail

Over the last ten years, we have had several generations of quail nesting in the tree in our front yard. However, this current generation seems to have been raised in our back yard instead. This year, my daughter got some great pictures of the parent quail with their chicks. 

Summer Solstice

This year, the summer solstice fell on the same day as father's day. Other than the many kind wishes from my children, my wife, and others, the only thing I wanted was a picture with my girls. We went to an overlook of downtown Spokane and picked bachelor buttons. 

Tiger Lily

When I was a little boy, I said that tiger lilies were my favorite flower. 

I haven't seen them since I was a child, but lately I have seen a lot of them.

The Shadow of the Spider

łuʔ t'upl sml'k'ʷeyeʔs.

The shadow of the spider. 

La sombra de la araña.

polplqn

hec kʷʔermi xʷeʔit łuʔ polplqn u hec nšeʔy' łuʔ hes clcil.
puti eʔp sc'ʔek'ʷ.

Many thimble berries are growing among the trees.
They still have flowers. 

Crecen un tipo de frambuesa silvestre entre los árboles.
Todavía tienen flores. 

Flowers

Wild rose...

A lighter variety of wild rose...

I don't know this flower...

Or this one...

Among the camas...

Camas flowers in the sunset...

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Every year I get the same pictures, but I love these plants. It always makes me happy to see them again after a cold winter. 

Bitterroot Flowers

Sunset through the trees...

Camas Therapy

 

My friend Stanton brought me to Drumheller Springs to see the camas in full bloom. I'm still not strong enough to actually dig the roots, but I didn't want to miss a visit with the flowers. Our short walk was my physical therapy for the day, but seeing the native plants was therapy for my soul.

La Terapia de Camasia

Mi amigo Stanton me llevó a las Mantiales Drumheller  para ver la camasia en su floración total. Aún no tengo fuerza como para excavar las raíces, pero no quería perder una visita con las flores. Nuestra caminata breve sirvió como terapia física, pero el acto de ver las plantas nativas me sirvió de terapia para el alma. 

As far as I can tell, no one has every translated camas into Spanish. If anyone knows, please tell me, but for now, I think I'll call camas by an adaptation of its Latin name. In Latin, the plant is called cammassia quamash, so in Spanish, I will call it: la camasia. 

Según puedo ver, nadie ha traducido la palabra camas al español. Si alguién lo sabe, por favor dígamelo. Pero por ahora pienso que llamaré la camas por una adaptación de su nombre latín. En latín, la planta se llama cammassia quamash. Por tanto, en español, la llamaré: la camasia.   

The camas flowers will soon begin to wilt. The weather has changed so much; I think the flowers are several weeks early. 

Pronto las flores de camasia empezarán a marchitar. El clima ha cambiado tanto; pienso que las flores han llegado temprano por varias semanas. 

A ladybug in the camas flower. 

Un ladybig entre la flor de camasia. 

This plant is often called Indian carrot or yampa (perideridia gairdneri).

Frecuentemente, esta planta se llama "zanahoria indígena" o yampa. 

From left to right: 

Wild onion. 

Indian carrot (yampa).

Camas.

Indian carrot (yampa).

De izquierda a derecha:

Cebolla silvestre. 

Zanahoria indígena. 

Camasia.

Zanahoria indígena.

The roots of Indian carrot. 

Las raíces de zanahoria indígena.

Some of the bitterroots (Lewisia rediviva) were beginning to bloom. 

Algunas de las raíces amargas empiezan a florecer. 

Lomatium trinernatum with camas. 

Lomatium triternatum con la camasia. 

Lomatium trinernatum flowers remind me of tiny galaxies. 

Las flores de lomatium trinernatum me parecen pequeñas galaxias. 

Arrowleaf balsamroot (balsamorhiza sagittata).

El nombre de esta flor se traduce literalmente al español como "hoja flecha raíz balsámico."

The balsamroot flowers are just beginning to wilt. 

Las flores de raíz balsámica están empezando a marchitar. 

Before the Stroke

This afternoon, my daughter and I took some pictures, and we found a few shots that I took a few days before the stroke. This is a photograph of the sun shining through the dried branches of cow parsnip. 

Columbia River Sunset

Sunset over the Columbia River, near Inchelium - Saturday.

El anochecer sobre el Río Columbia, cerca de Inchelium - Sábado. 

A Chorus of Birds

Once again, a chorus of birds greeted me this morning at the college. 

Una vez más, un coro de pájaros me saludó en la mañana en el colegio.