Lots of Gabriolans wondered what would happen to Cliff Cornell after he left Gabriola to go back to the US. Here’s the latest from the Georgia Straight: U.S. war resister and ex-B.C. resident Cliff Cornell sentenced to one year in prison. An Iraq war resister who lived in B.C. from January 2005 to February 2009 [...]
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By now I’ve seen hundreds of culturally modified trees on Gabriola; this is the only one I’ve come across that includes graffiti. The letters seem to be carved into the wood, and then painted — who would go to all that work? And what does it mean?
This is Fairyslipper, also known as Calypso Orchid. Its Latin name is Calypso bulbosa. And today I found one — just one! — in the middle of a grassy area in the Gabriola woods. It’s a stunning beauty, it is. The small image here doesn’t do it justice. If you’ve got a moment, I invite [...]
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From the Nanaimo Daily News: New rules worry reps: The Ferry Advisory Committee fears higher fares coming. After hearing the federal government’s explanation, coastal community representatives are not convinced there is a need for new limits on carrying capacity for B.C. Ferry vessels. Ferry Advisory Committee chairmen for Gabriola, southern Gulf and Saltspring islands and [...]
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These shoots are the height of lipstick tubes, and have only appeared in the last couple of weeks. There are about 20 shoots in the middle of a mossy area. Any idea what’s coming up? I haven’t a clue, but I’ll be back to see what develops. Update, April 27th: Argh! They’re all gone! Now [...]
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If you’re interested in Gabriola writers, turn on your radio. Today (April 21st) sometime between 4pm and 6pm, Sandy Duncan and George Szanto will be interviewed on CBC Radio 1 (690 AM) about their book, Never Sleep With a Suspect on Gabriola Island: An Islands Investigations International Mystery. (At least that’s what the email from [...]
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Note: if you came here looking for information about the August 3rd, 2011 stabbing murder, please see this post and this update. If there are more updates, they will be posted on the front page. See that nefarious vine? It’s already cutting into the alder tree. The other tree is bigger and stronger, so the [...]
You know how alder trees have patterns? Well, this Gabriola alder tree seems to have a very famous mouse on its bark.
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From the Nanaimo News Bulletin: Gabriola park future planned. A comprehensive management plan and a new name are in the works for Gabriola Island’s 707 Acre Community Park. The Regional District of Nanaimo is set to host an open space meeting to determine what residents feel should be the future of the park. "It’s a [...]
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Otters are all very fine in their natural environment, and we love to watch them on the Gabriola shoreline. The problem is when otters decide to move into your crawlspace, basement, or the place under your porch. Otter poop is not a pleasant smell, and you won’t like the smell of the otters’ fishy dinner [...]
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One of our Gabriola otters, having dinner at the beach:
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I’ve been asking Gabriola friends how they spot the difference between tourists and Gabriolans they haven’t met before. I wanted to see if anybody would give the answer that seems so obvious to me. Responses so far have included these tourist-spotting tips: Footwear. Tourists wear shoes that are useless in the mud. Rental cars. Light-coloured [...]
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We’ve got lots of undesirable and invasive plants on Gabriola, but Giant Hogweed is the nastiest and most toxic. There’s some Giant Hogweed at Drumbeg, and here and there elsewhere on the island, too. (A friend on the next block found Giant Hogweed in his back yard!) Once you see this video, you’ll know why [...]
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Things are never boring in the Gabriola woods. Today we spotted salal hanging from a tree. That led us to a massive cache of salal, all bundled and ready for sale to the floral industry in Nanaimo.This is just a small part of it: Then we saw Mr Salal Harvester himself, picking away. (!) There [...]
The Nanaimo Bulletin reports that a pod of dolphins showed up in Departure Bay this morning. Nanaimo residents travelling along Departure Bay caught a rare site Wednesday morning, when a pod of about 30 Pacific White Sided dolphins paid a visit to the bay. (…) The Pacific White Sided dolphin is about two metres long, [...]
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From the Nanaimo Daily News: Gabriola Radio Society isn’t giving up on plans to bring community broadcasting to the island despite a failed application for a broadcast licence. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission last month closed the society’s application for a broadcast licence to operate a community radio station, which would feature local performers [...]
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Have you seen what’s happening behind Folklife Village these days? A whole bunch of brush has been cleared. Now that’s being burned, along with a bunch of junk that’s been sitting out there for years. The smoke is terrible, and the big fire is just going on and on and on. If you’ve got asthma [...]
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Well, well, well. What have we here? It’s a bunch of salal, held together with a rubber band — oddly enough, one just like the rubber bands I’ve been finding on forest trails recently. What do you suppose this bunch of salal is doing up in a tree like this, in the middle of the [...]
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