11 Comments

Very much enjoying this. Living farther north after growing up in Oregon, one of the things I miss most is the camas that grows beneath the oaks in the Willamette Valley. Such beautiful plants, and such a staple to generations who lived there before any white settler arrived. I worked on an archaeological site that was filled with camas ovens, and it forever sealed in my mind the beauty and vitality of those bulbs, the lives they supported--and how I wish more people in the PNW understood the value and meaning of those gorgeous blue flowers in spring. And how small the population is now compared to what it was when the prairies would turn into blue lakes in spring.

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Oct 20, 2023ยทedited Oct 20, 2023Liked by John Lovie

So beautiful and rich American lands are, so much to reminisce and wonder about for someone who knows very little of the land in west. And this series is transatlantic so its even more fun! Thank you for sharing in such details John, this is education for me.

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Fascinating to hear about the history on that side of the Puget Sound!

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Great job digging into this history, John! I read with keen interest, as you can imagine. There is a lot of rich understanding to be gained by combining study of land theft in North America with study of the Highland Clearances. (Farmerama had a 4-part series on this titled "Landed." It's incredibly well-done and introspective and also includes the reality of much of the wealth that resulted in Scottish land purchases that then led to clearances came from profiting from slavery.)

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