Perhaps it’s tonight, the last night of the year, when Gabriola trees add a new ring of bark. Maybe they do it whilst sipping wine and eating shortbread cookies.
(Or maybe I should not blog after wine and shortbread.)
Filed in Gabriola Island, native plants, photos No Responses yet
Did you know that one of Vancouver’s famous buildings is called Gabriola? It’s on Davie Street near English Bay in the city’s West End. The City of Vancouver explains:
Gabriola, (at the northwest corner of Davie and Nicola), is the last of the community’s truly grand mansions. Built in 1900-1901 for industrialist Benjamin Tingley Rogers (founder [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, history No Responses yet
A few weeks ago a big old alder tree toppled over in the Gabriola woods. It didn’t fall across the path, but along the path, which is much worse: the trunk took up the entire path, and branches sticking out all over the place made the path unusable. We had to bushcrash our way around [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, trails No Responses yet
Did you know that you can donate online to any of Gabriola’s registered charities? This method is easy, convenient, and offers options that I love.
Interested? Hop over to CanadaHelps. Type Gabriola in the search box and you get to a this list of Gabriola charities. Click the name of a charity to learn more about [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 3 Comments so far
You’ve seen some stunningly expensive houses for sale on Gabriola. There’s that one down on the waterfront that costs more than I can imagine spending on anything short of saving the world. Then there’s the massive property with enough land and buildings to house a religious cult. Then there’s…. oh, you get the idea. We’ve [...]
Filed in environment No Responses yet
New today in the Gabriola woods: these ever-so-small mushrooms.
I’d never be able to see all this detail without the zoom lens. (The mushrooms, in real life, are about a centimeter wide.)
Filed in Gabriola Island, mushrooms, photos No Responses yet
So. Let’s suppose you’re going to give a bit of money to some Gabriola charity. Which one will you select, and why?
To help with the decision, I made a list of Gabriola charities that are registered charities, and can give tax receipts. Then I narrowed that list down by seeing which charities have websites. My [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island One Response so far
Two paths diverge in a Gabriola wood. This antler, wedged between two trees, marks the spot.
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, trails No Responses yet
Got the Gabriola font on your computer? Then perhaps you’re wondering how to switch between the different stylistic variants (lettering styles) the font offers. (I know there are a lot of people who want this information, because they arrive at Gabriolan.ca after searching for ‘how to change lettering style in Gabriola font’ or some such.)
I [...]
Filed in Gabriola people, assorted No Responses yet
When I’m out at Berry Point, I wonder what’s going on under the waves, and whether the newly-planted kelp will thrive there. Remember hearing about the Help the Kelp project a while back? Today I visited Dr. Michael Mehta’s website and noticed a link to this Youtube video of the Gabriola kelp re-planting:
Also of interest: [...]
Filed in environment 3 Comments so far
You’ve seen those signs the Government of Canada has posted along the edges of their Gabriola property. They say private property and no trespassing.
Or at least that’s what the signs all used to say. This one’s been modified. Typical of Gabriola, don’t you think? (Don’t you tell me what to do!)
The sign is [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, trails 2 Comments so far
Mother Jones magazine has a fascinating article about a fungus that grows on islands near Gabriola. (And who knows? Maybe it grows on Gabriola, too!) The article is Return of the Fungi:
In the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest grows a bulbous, prehistoric-looking mushroom called agarikon. It prefers to colonize century-old Douglas fir trees, growing [...]
Filed in environment, mushrooms No Responses yet
Did you know that frost flowers are all over the Gabriola woods these days? They’re gorgeous. Get up early on a cold day if you want to see them, and head to a place where alders or maple trees grow. If the conditions are just right, you’ll be rewarded with much frosty beauty.
And what are [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, weather No Responses yet
Off the path, crashing through the Gabriola woods, I sometimes come across well caps like this one. Are they locked so that the forest animals won’t install pipes and a dishwasher?
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos 3 Comments so far
The Gabriola forest was magical this morning.
Filed in Gabriola Island, insects, photos No Responses yet
One of the Gabriola blogs I visited today is Colin’s Rowing & Sailing Stories. Colin Masson lives on Gabriola, and he’s got the kind of boat I want: a traditional handliner. Here are Colin’s Reflections from Rowing the Bus to Work:
The best part of this rowing day was the orcas, but I’m getting ahead of [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, Gabriola people No Responses yet
Lost your gloves on Gabriola? By now somebody has found them, and your gloves are decorating a tree, just waiting for you to return.
These gloves are in the 707 Acre Woods. Other lost gloves are similarly displayed on other parts of the island.
Maybe one day I’ll find the one black glove I lost….
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos No Responses yet
Here’s some Christmas music for you, Gabriola! This year I send you the Toronto Consort singing Praetorius Christmas Vespers.
Filed in assorted, music One Response so far
This is part of an Abe Books blog post about a town without a bookstore:
I remember touring around a small Gulf Island called Gabriola between here and mainland Canada a couple of years ago and discovering what looked like a gas station for boats on the edge of a dock. What intrigued me was the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, books No Responses yet
If you’re zooming and rushing and there’s no chance of getting everything ready by December 25th, I offer you this comforting thought: Christmas is actually 12 days long. It’s not a one-day deal, but a 12 day season. The 12 days of Christmas, remember? December 25th is the first of the 12 days. So, the [...]
Filed in assorted 2 Comments so far
Here’s great news for Cliff Cornell and all his friends on Gabriola. From the Nanaimo News Bulletin: Reduced sentence won for Gabriola war resister.
Supporters of a U.S. war resister who sought refuge on Gabriola Island likely played a huge part in getting his sentence reduced, the man’s lawyer says.
Cliff Cornell, who lived on Gabriola Island [...]
Filed in Gabriola people No Responses yet
The Gabriola Commons has a new feature: this boardwalk, which means you’ll no longer need gumboats when walking through the soggy bits of the property in winter-time. It was built by volunteers from the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust.
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos No Responses yet
David Vincent wrote to Gabriolan.ca a few days ago, to ask Who owns the copyright on the word Gabriola? Have you made your guess yet? Then David linked to this Gabriola font page at Microsoft Typography, and noted I find I am annoyed by this. How about you?
Well. That’s interesting. I looked at the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, Gabriola people 6 Comments so far
Now really, what’s up with the birdhouses? Is it you? Are you building birdhouses, placing them in the Gabriola forest on the obscure trails I love, then waiting for me to discover them? Is it so I’ll have lots of Gabriola blog content? Or is it just to keep me puzzling about the birdhouse mystery?
In [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, trails No Responses yet
Gabriola is part of the traditional lands of the Snuneymuxw First Nation (Nanaimo Coast Salish), so I’m always interested when the Snuneymuxw are mentioned in the press. The most recent news article is this one from the Nanaimo Daily News. It quotes the new Snuneymuxw chief, Doug White:
White said Dec. 23 marks the 155th anniversary [...]
Filed in First Nations, Gabriola Island No Responses yet
