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 has [...]
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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?
Filed in Gabriola Island, native plants 2 Comments so far
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 the Sunshine [...]
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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 how will [...]
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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 [...]
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See that nefarious vine? It’s already cutting into the alder tree. The other tree is bigger and stronger, so the vine climbs up and up, causing problems above. The vine is honeysuckle, and it’s attacking thousands of trees in the Gabriola woods. It’s everywhere.
If you walk in the woods, keep an eye out for [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, invasive plants 2 Comments so far
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 chance for the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, trails One Response so far
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 leftovers, [...]
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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 trousers seeking stains [...]
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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 were [...]
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The Nanaimo Bulletin reports that a pod of dophins 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, gray and [...]
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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 and [...]
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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 or [...]
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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 Gabriola forest?
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We’ve got lots of woodpeckers on Gabriola, and until now I’ve just seen them doing woodpecker-type things. Like, you know, pecking wood. So why did one woodpecker suddenly decide that our window needed pecking? What’s the appeal of pecking glass? And how can I send him back to the trees?
Somebody on Metafilter asked the [...]
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You know that BC First Nations people used cedar for all sort of things: canoes, housing, masks, clothing, blankets, baskets, totem poles, and probably lots of other purposes as well. The Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo Coast Salish) on Gabriola were no exception. Sometimes they took an entire cedar tree, but other times they just took part of [...]
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Here’s a Seattle Times article on the salal-harvesting industry: A war in the woods.
Son Chau and his wife were all alone and deep in the woods when a man shoved a pistol into their truck and said he was taking it all: 20,000 stems of a shrub called salal.
Chau had spent the day as he [...]
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I’ve been hoping to run into Gabriola’s Basket Cases for a couple of years now. I’ve seen their work, and the baskets they make are stunning. I wanted to buy some.
Today I knew where they’d be, and when. Armed with hope and cash, off I went to the Gabriola Museum.
It was amazing. They had all [...]
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See what the dog found in the woods above Whalebone? Yum, she says.
I’m creeped out by the teeth on this thing. Is it a catfish?
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There are lots of things I hate about power outages on Gabriola. Not being able to flush toilets or run water is a big one, and a nasty surprise for city visitors. Having my internet access cut off is not a good thing, either. But the thing that disturbs my sleep and my equilibrium is [...]
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Today we were in Nanaimo, and stopped by a cafe called The Buzz for coffee. Pretty good coffee! We’ve been many times.
Near the cash register, they’ve posted this sign. It introduces Achala, the sponsor child the cafe supports. They take money from the tip jar, and sponsor this kid in Sri Lanka.
This made my day.
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