Archive for February, 2009

Cliff Cornell charged with desertion

Arkansas Online has an update on former Gabriolan Cliff Cornell: Soldier from Arkansas charged with desertion.

Fort Stewart commanders have filed a desertion charge against a soldier accused of fleeing to Canada four years ago to avoid the war in Iraq, a spokesman for the Georgia Army post said Thursday.
Spc. Cliff Cornell, 29, will now face [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola people 3 Comments so far

Dear Gabriola snowplough drivers

Dear Gabriola snowplough drivers,
Do you miss us? We miss you. Why don’t you come clear our neighbourhood streets, then stop in for a bowl of hot soup?
Love,
The snowed-in people
who are about to hike to the village for groceries.

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, weather No Responses yet

Gabriola’s beautiful inconvenience

What better than a blanket of snow to add magic to a Gabriola morning?
And what better than snow — with more on the way, apparently — to make the washing machine repair guy cancel his visit to Gabriola today? The septic system repair guy phoned last night to cancel, too, so our fixit day has [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, weather No Responses yet

Food delivery service for Gabriola

I have often wished that somebody would start a food delivery business on Gabriola. I’m thinking of something along the lines of Takeout Taxi or Go Waiters, one of which existed in Vancouver when we lived there. (Or how about something like Sliced Tomatoes? That’d be good, too.)
What a great concept. The delivery service we [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, food No Responses yet

Your chance to support Radio Gabriola!

Have you written your letter to the CRTC in support of Radio Gabriola’s application? No? You’d better do it soon if you want your letter to count — the CRTC has to receive your note by March 5th.
I tried to use the CRTC website to submit my letter, but it was hopeless. I don’t know [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far

Would Transport Canada give the Quinsam an exemption?

By now you’ve heard of the new Transport Canada rules for ferries, which means that the Quinsam can’t carry as many passengers as it has been able to — not unless BC Ferries adds another staff person to the Quinsam. I expect this will lead to maddening sailing waits in the tourist season.
Anyway, it’s not [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, ferries No Responses yet

Hidden in the Gabriola woods

If you hike in the Gabriola woods every day, and if you go to all sorts of obscure places that are off the trail, you eventually find the places where people are living in the middle of the forest.

There aren’t any obvious trails going to this campsite, so the chances of somebody stumbling across it [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, photos No Responses yet

Green gadgets for Gabriola?

What do you think — are some of these green gadgets perfect for Gabriola? From ecoble.com: 10 Unbelievable eco technologies and green gadgets.

From luminescent fiber-optic wallpaper to wood-powered hot tubs, kinetic iPods and cardboard bridges, green technology and sustainable innovation continue to amaze and impress us all. Here’s a look at our top 10 [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in misc No Responses yet

Skunk cabbages

Look! Gabriola’s skunk cabbages have emerged from swampy ground, and are starting to grow: a perfect west coast sign of spring. You know that bend in North Road as you go from the village and approach Horseshoe? Just before the road straightens out, look to the right and you’ll see skunk cabbages next to the [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, native plants, photos 2 Comments so far

A food-growing system based on natural ecology

There seems to be much interest in food security and sensible farming practices on Gabriola. (On Tuesday Robin Wheeler will speak about her book, Food Security for the Faint of Heart. See Gabriola events calendar for details.) If those topics are close to your heart, check out this article from the Daily Mail: Now my [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in food No Responses yet

What I missed at Christmas

I hiked through these woods at Christmas, but didn’t notice then that somebody has decorated a cedar tree with Christmas ornaments. It’s in the Elder Cedar (S’ul-hween X’pey) Nature Reserve.
If you start at the park’s main entrance on North Road, you then either take the stepping stones across the stream, or head off the other [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, trails No Responses yet

Mushrooms, slime molds, and jellies: oh my!

We have zillions of mushrooms on Gabriola, and lots of slime molds and jellies, too. Here’s what some of them look like as they grow.

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in mushrooms No Responses yet

More Beyond the Pale for Gabriola

A few days ago I blogged about the Beyond the Pale concert planned for Gabriola. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
The Saturday night concert (February 21st) is now sold out, so they’ve added a 3pm concert as well. Sign up at Raspberry’s, or get your tickets at the door, if there are any left by then. $15.00.

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, events, music No Responses yet

Expect longer waits for the Quinsam

The Gabriola ferry route isn’t the only one affected by the new passenger limit rules. The Courier Islander notes what happened to North Island MLA Claire Trevena on her way home to Quadra Island.

…she arrived in time for the 5:25 p.m. ferry only to find that a number of young people were heading over to [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, ferries No Responses yet

Gabriola’s black mushroom

The acronym MOTD used to mean ‘message of the day’ to me — it was the message that a Unix system presented to the user on login. These days, the letters MOTD mean mushroom of the day as far as I’m concerned — there are zillions of mushrooms on Gabriola, and I find new ones [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, mushrooms No Responses yet

Quinsam returns to Gabriola

BC Ferries notes that the Quinsam is returning to the Gabriola route on Wednesday morning.

The MV Quinsam will return to service on Wednesday, February 18 with the 5:45 a.m. sailing from Descanso Bay.
The vessel returns to service following the first phase of its midlife upgrade that included painting of the vessel, steel replacement and sewage [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, ferries No Responses yet

Gabriola eggs

Remember all that fuss at the Gabriola Farmers’ Market last summer about eggs? Anna, who cooks at the market, insisted on using Gabriola farm-fresh eggs. Along came the food inspector, who handed Anna an official notice to stop using Gabriola eggs. Eggs have to come from someplace where they are officially graded, he said. Health [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, food No Responses yet

Beyond the Pale

I love Klezmer music, so I’m thrilled that Beyond the Pale is coming to Gabriola. See? Here’s how fun they are:

Beyond the Pale will be at the Roxy on February 21st. See Gabriola events calendar for details.
(Here’s an article on the phrase beyond the pale. If you’ve ever wondered where the phrase came from or [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, events, music No Responses yet

Gabriola eagles

I’ve tried to take photos of Gabriola’s eagles, but it’s difficult because they don’t stand still for me. Don Butt has no such problems with the eagles at his place; he overlooks trees where a pair of eagles hang out, and even gets to see what goes on in their nest. He’s got lots of [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, birds, photos No Responses yet

Thai dinner for Gabriola

The first thing I learned about Gabriola’s John O’Connell is that he’s a professional chef, and a fine one at that. If John invites you for dinner, drop everything and go!
Today I bumped into John at the village, and he told me about the Thai dinner he’ll be cooking at Raspberry’s on March 7th. Now, [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, events, food No Responses yet

African yam and peanut soup

People on Gabriola don’t usually tell me about their soups. But the other day at the village, a friend came over to tell me about the most awesome soup ever –one she’d made and loved. She told me where to find the recipe, too… and who could resist, after that?
Here’s the African Yam and Peanut [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in food No Responses yet

New ferry rules may increase Quinsam lineups and fares

From the Nanaimo Daily News: Tougher ferry safety rules may increase lineups, fares.

Transport Canada has tightened up the rules affecting minimum staffing levels for smaller B.C. Ferries vessels, raising fears of hefty fare increases and longer lineups.
New federal marine personnel regulations that took effect Jan. 1 mean B.C. Ferries must cut smaller vessels’ passenger capacity [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, ferries 3 Comments so far

Morning sunbeams in the Gabriola woods

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, photos No Responses yet

Grow some wheat, Gabriola!

Here’s the perfect project for your Gabriola garden: grow some wheat! Or, as the Tyee puts it Grow Your Own Bread.

Making homemade bread has taken on a whole new meaning.
Brock McLeod and Heather Walker will teach you how to start your own wheat field. Even if you live in the heart of the city.
"We want [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, food No Responses yet

Kerplunks update

Here’s more about the Kerplunks and their Juno nomination from the Nanaimo Daily News: Kerplunks’ tunes splashy.

They are up against big names like the Barenaked Ladies and win or lose, these two bubbly musicians want the best in children’s music to walk across the same stage as every other award winner.
The children’s award usually gets [...]

Read the rest of this article »

Filed in Gabriola Island, music No Responses yet

Next Page »