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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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.
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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 [...]
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? [...]
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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 [...]
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This is ocean spray, shown against a winter sky in Gabriola’s 707 Acre Woods.
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I could fill this whole blog with photos of strange things I find in the Gabriola woods. (Um, some would say I already do.) Here’s something that appeared recently: a butterfly ornament hung from a tree. It’s away from the main trails, so you’d only notice it if you were walking around in places where [...]
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You’re in Nanaimo, on your way home to Gabriola. You pull up to the ticket booth at the ferry terminal, and what are you thinking? When it’s our turn, my dog is thinking This is where they love me! because the ticket booth staff give dog cookies to every single dog. Every time. And where [...]
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Lots of people on Gabriola are interested in alternative building materials. (Did you go to the cob building workshop at the Gabriola Commons last year?) So, Gabriola house-builders, here’s something for you to consider: a house made from paper. From emagazine.com: Forget the old saying that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. [...]
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A few years ago I started finding antlers mounted on trees in the Gabriola forest. Have you seen any of them? The antlers shown here were clean and white when I first saw them, but they’re turning green with age now.
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How long has this been at the side of the road in the 707 Acre Woods? I used to walk that main loop (from end of Ricki Avenue to the end of Jeanette Avenue) every day, and I’m sure I would have noticed this if it had been at the roadside then. Has somebody dragged [...]
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Thanks to BC Hydro staff on Gabriola for fixing things so that we have power again this morning. Here’s what I’m wondering: when the power goes out on Gabriola, how do the repair crews know where the problem is? They can’t be relying on somebody to phone and say a tree fell across power lines [...]
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This year, please deck the halls with all the holly. In fact, how about cutting down a whole holly tree to use as a Christmas tree? Holly is an invasive plant on Gabriola. It’s native to England, not BC, and it’s doing bad things in the Gabriola forest. The Greater Vancouver Invasive Plant site explains [...]
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Ohmygoodness, all that snow! Well. I’m sitting here sipping some single malt — as one does on snow days — and feeling happy about my wreath, shown here. This wreath is cool because: looks pretty spiffy, doesn’t it? it was made on Gabriola, out of Gabriola greenery a friend made it she gave it to [...]
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You probably heard what BC Ferries’ financial officer Rob Clarke told the Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee last month: BC Ferries blames Islands Trust for high fares. Islands Trust land-use policies are creating a scarcity of developable land, driving real estate prices up, pushing out young people and replacing them with retirees who travel less, said [...]
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On Gabriola, what can compare to rose hips for cheery winter colour? Rose hips are useful as food, too. They’re very high in vitamin C, and can be used in all kinds of recipes. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples notes that the Vancouver Island Salish ate the outer rind of rose hips. Edible and [...]
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