Happy Hallowe’en, Gabriola!
Filed in Gabriola Island,photos 2 Comments so far
Archive for October, 2009
Ready for snow, Gabriola?
Remember last winter? All that snow was beautiful, but my there was a lot of it. (If your memory is fading, peek at the blog posts about snow on Gabriola last year.) I made lots of snow-based resolutions then, all along the lines of I Will Be Better Prepared Next Year. With that in mind, [...]
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Pipe water to Gabriola? Maybe not.
From the Daily News: No interest in proposal to pipe water to Gabriola. A Gabriola resident’s idea to pipe water to the island from Nanaimo failed to get a bite from the Islands Trust on Thursday. Jeremy Baker made his pitch to the Islands Trust committee struck to deal with a growing water shortage problem. [...]
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Gory idea for a Gabriola Hallowe’en costume
If you’re looking for a Gabriola-themed Hallowe’en costume, you’ve got several options. In the horror and ick department, here’s today’s inspirational photo for the do-it-yourself costume makers. This is a dead deer in the Gabriola woods. All the fur is gone, the nose has been ripped off and eaten by some other animal, and… well, [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife 4 Comments so far
That annoying ferry problem, again
Uh-oh. Here we go again with Gabriola ferry nonsense. From the Daily News: Regulations limit Gabriola ferry passengers. Many Monday-morning commuters on the 7:50 a.m. ferry from Gabriola Island to Nanaimo had to wait for the next crossing due to Transport Canada regulations limiting the number of passengers on the vessel. The Bowen Queen, which [...]
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Bubbles on trees
Just when I think I’ve figured out what all the strange stuff is in the Gabriola forest, I find another weird thing. This time it’s bubbles on trees. It looks as if somebody’s gone out with some dishwashing liquid, squirted it on trees, and added enough liquid to make bubbles. I’ve seen these bubbles on [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,trails 4 Comments so far
Garlic
Ah, garlic. This week I planted 125 cloves of garlic, which should produce 125 heads of garlic, and be enough to keep vampires away. Garlic does seem like the perfect thing to grow on Gabriola, because Other than weeding, garlic needs little care once it’s planted. (…) Because most growth occurs before the summer sun [...]
Filed in food,Gabriola Island,gardening 2 Comments so far
Argh! Out-of-reach mushrooms.
Here’s something that is driving me slightly crazy just now. See these? I think they’re oyster mushrooms. If only I had the chance, I’d pick some, check them out to see exactly what they are, and maybe even eat some. I really really want to get at these mushrooms. But alas: they’re out of reach. [...]
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Spud: grocery delivery service on Gabriola
Did you know we have a grocery delivery service on Gabriola? It’s spud.ca. They’re all over the place, and serve Gabriola from their Vancouver Island warehouse. Spud seems to offer a lot of organic food, and locally produced food, too. Customers place orders over the web, and groceries are delivered once a week. Delivery is [...]
Filed in food,Gabriola Island 3 Comments so far
Gabriola forest birdhouse
Here’s what I spotted in the forest today: somebody’s home-made bird house, nestled in an alder tree. I’d love to know who put it there, and when; it does look like it’s been there for years.
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Gabriola artist, in the wild
Where do Gabriola artists hang out when they’re not working in their studios or hosting studio tours? Well, here’s one I spotted in the wild the other day, right in the middle of the forest with easel and all. Good thing he got his sketching done before the rain came, hmm? Today it’s pouring; a [...]
Filed in Gabriola people,trails Comments Off
Turkey Tail
What with my mushroom obsession and Thanksgiving, this seems a perfect time to show you a polypore called Turkey Tail. (In Latin it’s either Trametes versicolor, Coriolus versicolor, or Plyporus versicolor. Because taxonomy is like that, that is why.) It’s a shelf-like thing, and on Gabriola it grows on old alder – either fallen or [...]
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Ferry sailings cancelled?
If you use BC Ferries to travel between Gabriola and Vancouver, you might be less than pleased about BC Ferries’ plans to reduce the number of sailings. From the Nanaimo Daily News: Travellers hoping to get off Vancouver Island from the Departure Bay ferry terminal during the week will have to do it by 5 [...]
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SPCA rescues hoarded cats on Gabriola
Remember the story about the woman who hoards cats? We’d heard she was planning to move to Gabriola, and she did. Now the sad update from the BC SPCA: BC SPCA called a second time to rescue cats from large-scale hoarder. The BC SPCA has been called out a second time to rescue neglected cats [...]
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Hope for Gabriola Radio?
Here’s the latest from the Gabriola Co-op Radio website: Good news for friends of Gabriola Radio! Vista Broadcasting has joined forces with Gabriola in attempt to squelch Rogers Broadcasting’s expansion of 100,000 watt CIOC 98.5 FM, Victoria’s Ocean Lite Rock. Roger’s application would take away the last channel on the West Coast suitable for a [...]
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Dolphins visiting Gabriola
From an article in The Nanaimo Daily News: A group of up to 200 Pacific white-sided dolphins frolicking off the north end of Gabriola Island have been exciting islanders and passing marine traffic. [The article is no longer available on the Nanaimo Daily News website.]
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Gabriola’s autumn spider
These spiders are all over the Gabriola woods right now, building gorgeous webs. The other day I watched as this spider captured a victim, and seemed to wrap that victim in spider-silk. Is that what they do? I know so little about spiders. I’m quite taken with this photo, because it seems to show the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects,photos One Response so far
Mystery solved: holes and pipes in the Gabriola woods
Here are two Gabriola mysteries that have been puzzling me for years. If you go off the path in the Gabriola woods, sooner or later you’ll come across a hole in the ground. It’s about the size of hole that a backhoe might dig for a grave, or maybe for a small mass grave. (!) [...]
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