"Dykes and Ditches"

An artist I know who is working on a project inspired by her Richmond, B.C. childhood and that city's dikes and ditches sent me an invitation by a Vancouver journalist looking to do a story on "Metro Van floodplains" (see the screen grab above). Close readers will note the writer's spelling of dikes (the preferred North American spelling) as "dykes" (the preferred spelling in other English-speaking countries and Special Administrative Regions, and one which carries an additional connotation), which tells me just how far the (North American) culture has come in recognizing those who once went unseen. As for those historic ditches, they've all but disappeared. (When I was a kid, they were everywhere.)