Archive for November, 2009

November ferry to Gabriola

Looking back at the sunset as the ferry nears Gabriola.

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Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island,photos 2 Comments so far

Men of Gabriola, your help is needed

Britain’s National Trust is encouraging men to pee on the compost heap. The Telegraph reports: The rather unusual practice is already actively encouraged at stately homes around the country where pee bales have been deposited in secluded areas of National Trust gardens to allow male members of staff to relieve themselves. The Trust, which actively [...]

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The Pacific Biological Station and its Gabriola connection

A few days ago, I posted a photo of a building on the Nanaimo waterfront, and asked What’s the Gabriola connection? I wondered if any of you would know. (I am starting to think that readers of this blog know everything – at least about Gabriola!) Andrea posted the answer. She wrote: The first director [...]

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Two-bite brownies

When the Gabriola grocery store was out of chocolate (maybe it still is?), I decided that emergency measures were needed. After a bit of hunting around, I found this recipe for Two-bite Brownies on a blog called Food and Whine. I tried them, and yum, they’re good! Apologies to those of you who subscribe to [...]

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Growing your own food on Gabriola

Do you garden, or are you tempted to give gardening a try? (I hear that garden plots at the Gabriola Commons are only 20.00 per year.) If so, you might be interested in the Zero Mile Diet Seed kit, which sounds just perfect for Gabriola residents. I ordered mine the other day. Here’s what’s in [...]

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Former businessman lives on no money for a year

Do you know anybody on Gabriola who lives on very little money? I’ve met a few such people, but none of them have stories quite like this one. Here, this is from the Telegraph: Former businessman lives on no money for a year. Mark Boyle said giving up his job, possessions and money to live [...]

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What’s the Gabriola connection?

Here’s a building on the Nanaimo waterfront. Can you guess what its connection to Gabriola is? Update: the answer is here.

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Filed in Gabriola Island 5 Comments so far

Identifying Gabriola’s mushrooms

In the Gabriola forest I see more mushroom varieties than I ever could have imagined. What are they? Which mushrooms are edible? Which are poisonous? I spent a lot of time wondering about this, so last year I decided to learn about mushrooms and figure it out. And I did. Now I get it: I [...]

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Filed in Gabriola Island,mushrooms 3 Comments so far

Living without money

Now here’s a fascinating article from the Times Online: Living without money. Twenty-two years ago Heidemarie Schwermer, a middle-aged secondary school teacher just emerging from a difficult marriage, moved with her two children from the village of Lueneburg to the city of Dortmund, in the Ruhr area of Germany, whose homeless population, she immediately noticed, [...]

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Filed in Gabriola Island,lifestyles One Response so far

Gabriola lighthouse

Not the lighthouse you were expecting, is it? But the other one isn’t actually on Gabriola Island. This one is.

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Gabriola’s chocolate problem

(Or rather: how it is impossible to find any decent chocolate on Gabriola today.) Dear Village Foods, Do you see the empty spot on the shelf? It’s where the Vivani Bitter 85% dark chocolate is supposed to be. Now, I ran out of chocolate a few weeks ago, and I’ve been checking this spot every [...]

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Small house on Gabriola Island

I like tiny houses. I can’t stay away from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website, where houses range from 65 to 837 square feet. Just go look at the range of stuff they offer – is that cool or what? I like the simplicity of tiny houses, and the fact that they use less of [...]

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Welcome to power outage season, Gabriola!

Things to do when the power goes out, again: Get the fireplace going. Remind self that early Gabriola pioneers would not have whined about lack of electricity. Open bottle of wine. Remind self that early Gabriola pioneers would not have whined about lack of running water. Cook things that can be cooked on stovetop. (Yay [...]

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Filed in Gabriola Island,weather 2 Comments so far

Cougar on Gabriola

Do you know there’s a cougar on Gabriola? That’s what my friend asked tonight when she called to warn me about it. Apparently a cougar has been spotted near the Daniel Way area. Yipes. If you don’t know how to prevent a cougar attack, this would be a good time to read up on the [...]

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Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife 4 Comments so far

Water everywhere!

If you’re thinking of going for a stroll in the woods, wear your gumboots: whole sections of the Gabriola forest are now flooded. And those old logging roads? Ha! Many of them look like this. Update: Some of the puddles are so deep that my dog has to swim across them. Imagine! And I’d need [...]

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Forest face

The other day I walked in woods I don’t know very well, because hunters were shooting at deer in the place where I usually hike. (!) Anyway. In unfamiliar forest, I followed what looked like a trail until it betrayed me by not being a trail at all. I got so desperately lost that I [...]

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Gabriola petroglyph

We’ve got lots of petroglyphs on Gabriola; this is one a friend pointed out in the woods last week. I’m glad we have all those petroglyph reproductions at the Gabriola Museum, but it’s way more fun to come across a real petroglyph in the middle of the forest somewhere.

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Gabriola ferry not going anywhere

(Ferry update: fixed.) Anybody know what’s up with the ferry this morning? BC Ferries says: Please be advised that the Bowen Queen is currently holding in Descanso Bay (Gabriola Island) until further notice. The thing I hate about these BC Ferries we aren’t going anywhere right now notices is that they never give reasons. Did [...]

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