Here are two more Gabriola trail markers for you: deer skulls to guide you through the forest on the straight and narrow path. (Or narrow, overgrown, and twisty path, as the case may be.)
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I’m reading Clam Gardens: Aboriginal Mariculture on Canada’s West Coast. It’s fascinating beyond belief. Here’s what the back-of-the-book blurb says: Pre-contact West Coast aboriginal peoples are commonly categorized in anthropological literature as hunter-gatherers. Author, coastal traveller and historical researcher Judith Williams proposes that they cultivated butter clams in a walled sea gardens that may be [...]
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If your Gabriola garden is full of garlic, you might be wondering what to do with your garlic scapes — the loopy stem parts. Mike Hess has the answer at Hard Boiled: When Life Gives You Garlic Scapes, Make Pesto. See? It’s like a garlicky, delicious snake. Essentially, a garlic scape is the stem of [...]
Isn’t it lovely? This is twinflower, or Linnaea borealis. It’s a tiny little groundcovering plant, and it’s in bloom all over Gabriola now. Look for it nestled under the salal at the side of the trail, or mixed in with the grass in your local meadow. People who know about the history of plant names [...]
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I’ve often wondered about the Gabriola brickyard. How, exactly, did they make bricks? And out of what? Here’s the answer, from an article by Jenni Gehlbach: The first step in the process was to crush, grind and screen the shale to a fine powder in a dry pan crusher, rather like a huge rotary kitchen [...]
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This is what I’ve learned about garden soil lately: The Gabriola garden lady was right when she said we’d save money and get better quality soil if we were to order from these guys. The truck driver from Cinnabar Valley is incredibly talented, and can get this truck through our twelve-foot gate and down our [...]
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(The Viszla is on the left, the Airedale is on the right.) Viszla to human: Throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball… Airedale to Viszla: Who are you?
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Some months ago a volunteer from the Gabriola Commons phoned me. Would I consider signing up to support the Commons? Would I give them a cheque to authorize bank account deductions each month? Well, no, I wouldn’t. I give to charities, but I don’t write cheques anymore, and that monthly deduction thing creeps me out. [...]
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Today at Folklife there was an unusual amount of birdsong, so I wandered back and forth to see where it was all coming from. This is the answer: some bird has built a nest above the boardwalk, just between the Gabriola Library and the Jeremy Maude Studio and Gallery. Any idea what kind of bird [...]
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This cairn appeared on Whalebone Beach a while ago. Rather grand, isn’t it? (These images are thumbnails, so click one if you’d like a larger view.)
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I love the offbeat trail markers I find in the woods on Gabriola. This one is a bicycle derailleur (you know, the part that de-rails the chain from one cog or chain ring and moves it to another when you change gears) that’s been mounted on a branch. I walked this trail for over a [...]
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Ferry fares go up and up… ever wonder what BC Ferries spends all that money on? Here’s part of the answer, from CTV: BC Ferries unveils enhanced security measures. BC Ferries officials unveiled a dramatic security upgrade for their fleet Tuesday, from security cameras to bomb-sniffing dogs. Ferries chief operating officer Mike Corrigan says the [...]
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From the Daily News: Ferries cancel sailings. Citing the need to cut costs, B.C. Ferries plans to permanently cancel some ferry runs between Nanaimo and Vancouver during the less-busy winter season, starting Oct. 14. Spokesman Mark Stefansson said the company plans to cancel the 7 p.m. sailing out of Departure Bay and the 9 p.m. [...]
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From the Coast Reporter: Ferries leave accountability at the dock. I realize I am about six years late for the debate on privatizing the debt-ridden government agency. But six years on, we can now look back on what we might have gained or lost. I think we can file accountability under things we have lost. [...]
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We have gnomes in the Gabriola woods, and wasn’t I surprised to find that out yesterday morning! I’ve got the photos to prove it, and I’ll even tell you where they live so you can go see for yourselves. They’re in the Elder Cedar (S’ul-hween X’pey) Nature Reserve. If you park at the entrance on [...]
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A few days ago I blogged about sea anemones, and showed you a photo I took of one at Berry Point. That anemone was left in peace, and looked the way sea anemones look when they’re left alone to do their own thing. The other day at Whalebone I got a completely different view of [...]
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