Stinging nettle is all over Gabriola, so I learned lots about it in a hurry soon after we moved here. It started with "Ow! What stung me?" and "how do I recognize that nasty plant so I don’t get stung again?" I wondered what point there was to stinging nettle, but after a bit of [...]
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These "drilled wells" are all over the place in the woods between Whalebone Beach and North Road. I bet this one has lots of water! Update, February 15th: It seems that Mr Snapper hikes in these woods, too. Today his Gabriola Dailiy Photo blog features a photo of this very same well.
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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might remember that I found a weird thing in the woods a couple of months ago. To me it looked like a half-eaten maple leaf covered in white bubbly dried goop. I poked it with a stick (as one does!) then took a few photos [...]
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Yesterday I blogged about the idea of putting armed guards on BC Ferries, which I think is stupid. I love the Times Colonist’s article on the topic: Call for ferry marshals one more sign of post-911 paranoia. Not sure what a terrorist would do on a B.C. Ferry. Budge in line at the cafeteria? Bring [...]
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I’m planning a trip to Nanaimo soon, and already drooling about what I’m going to have for lunch. With that in mind, I thought I’d pause and tell you about my favourite Nanaimo lunch place, the Thirsty Camel. Do you know it? It’s just a short walk from the Gabriola ferry terminal, at the top [...]
A couple of years ago there were red triangular trail markers in the 707 Acre Woods. Hikers who began at the end of Ricki Street could follow a short loop (40 minutes, maybe?) to the end of Jeanette, following the markers. It was all very handy for those new to the 707. But then the [...]
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Did you see this? From the Vancouver Sun: BC Ferries need armed guards: Terrorism expert. BC Ferries needs an armed peace officer on vessels travelling major routes to protect the ships from attack, said a terrorism expert. John Thompson, an analyst with the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute, said that $5.6 million announced by the federal government [...]
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I like to swim in the sea, and there are lots of good places to do that around Gabriola. I’ll admit, though, that I’m already creeped out by some of the things that are underneath the water. I can deal with salmon and little fishies brushing up against my toes, but the mere thought of [...]
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Dear Gabriola musicians, I see your concerts advertised now and again, and am often tempted to buy tickets and go. But if all I know about you is your names, how will I know if I like your style of music? I’d be more likely to go to that concert of yours if you’d give [...]
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How do you get rid of old household appliances? "Leave them in the middle of Gabriola’s forest as installation art" has been the answer for some folks. Here we have a clothes dryer that’s been carefully set upon a stump. Perhaps somebody thought it would be a handy trail marker? Update: the washing machine nearby [...]
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This is from the Snuneymuxw exhibit at the Nanaimo Museum: The Salish used the same technique to spin all fibres. While spinning the spindle whorl is pointed upwards and the fibres are drawn down onto it. As the spindle rotates, it creates tension and a twist in the fibres, producing yarn. When the spindle is [...]
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Recognize this? It’s a red-belted polypore – also called red-belted conk. It grows on fallen wood, and sometimes on trees. It’s white or creamy-coloured underneath. Apparently this polypore is valued by some herbalists: I came across one site where they sell red-belted polypore tincture for eight different medicinal purposes. Who knew? Even more interesting (to [...]
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Who wants a bridge between Gabriola and Nanaimo? Not me; I signed up to live on an island. No, this is the kind of Gabriola bridge I like: It just appeared one day in the woods, right in the middle of nowhere.
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I was walking back from Sandwell when an owl swooped down right in front of me, and startled me into the next century. Then at Drumbeg — same thing, and same kind of owl. I’ve learned that these birds are called barred owls, and that they’re all over the place. They’re interesting for lots of [...]
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Dear Nanaimo Bulletin, Who’s doing your fact-checking these days? Your recent article, Gabriola aims to keep Cliff ‘at home’, says: Everywhere on Gabriola Island there are signs of support for U.S. war resister Cliff Cornell, who faces deportation from Canada this week. Everywhere? Really? I live on Gabriola, and I don’t see signs everywhere. There [...]
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I try to stay on Gabriola as much as possible, but sometimes a person has to go off to Nanaimo to do errands, and today was such a day. Acting on a tip, we headed north to Parksville for lunch, to a place called Real Food on Morison Street. Wasn’t that a good find!
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Concerned about Gabriola’s vanishing petroglyphs? You’re not the only one. Here’s an article from the Nanaimo Daily News: Sacred sites are defiled by misuse. Nick Doe wants to record as much information as he can about the remaining petrogylphs on Gabriola Island. "We’ve already lost some," said the amateur archeologist, the only person now actively [...]
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