This is amazing. Somebody put a bell jar over some bees, and the bees proceeded to build a hive inside the jar. See their construction project, step by step, through the glass. (Update: link removed as photos are no longer available.) Birdchick.com has photos and a video of another bees in a bell jar project. [...]
Filed in insects 3 Comments so far
The other day at Drumbeg I spotted some broom plants bearing tape that says invasive plant management. The tagged plants looked kind of sickly — are they being poisoned with chemicals, or what? It looks as if some kind of experiment is underway. I know there’s been a huge effort on Gabriola (thanks, GALTT) to [...]
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Perhaps you’ve noticed that dogs left in cars are often barking dogs — particularly here on Gabriola, and particularly in the parking lot at Folklife. Some days you can come out of Village Foods and hear four different sets of dogs barking. It’s often the tiny ones who make the most noise. There are quiet [...]
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BC Ferries will be messing around at the Gabriola ferry terminal again. They say: Starting mid-February and continuing through the end of April, BC Ferries will be upgrading the electrical service at Descanso Bay Terminal on Gabriola Island. Improvements will be made to the terminal’s electrical supply and to the shore-to-ship power capability. The work [...]
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If you put up a sign on Gabriola — even on your own property — that sign will vanish if somebody doesn’t like it. (Or maybe it will be modified, as one sign on government property was.) This no hunting or trespassing sign used to be on a tree. It’s been ripped down and left [...]
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It was a cloudy day when I saw the eagles here. There were about 20 of them, all perched in this dead tree, looking eerie and beautiful all at once. I wondered what on earth causes so many eagles to have a conference in a tree. It was a dead sea otter on the rocks, [...]
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If my property on Gabriola didn’t have a house on it, I’d be thinking seriously about small house designs. (Had you guessed?) Here’s an interesting one: …the Osprey is approximately 523 square feet of efficiently designed living space with one bedroom, one bath, a large great room and integrated decks that provide a generous living [...]
Filed in lifestyles 4 Comments so far
Gabriola has many amazing lichens, but this has got to be one of the most colourful. I think it’s Cladonia cristatella. Have you seen it? It grows on old trees, fallen wood, and rotting stumps. It seems to be happiest when growing on once-burned now-rotting wood in sunny areas. I’m sure you pass some of [...]
Filed in environment,native plants 2 Comments so far
Here’s another one of Gabriola’s petroglyphs. What animal do you think it represents? It looks like a cheery dog to me, and I know that the Snuneymuxw did keep dogs… so? On the other hand, it’s not like I know much about Snuneymuxw rock art, so somebody else is bound to have a better answer.
Filed in First Nations,Gabriola Island,history 4 Comments so far
You weren’t planning to fly from Gabriola to Vancouver anytime in the next while, were you? If you do plan a flight into the city soon, you might want to hurry up and get it over with before January 29th. It’s on the 29th that Extra Annoying Screening begins for seaplane passengers to Vancouver, all [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
Yesterday some trails were flooded in the Gabriola woods. We’re peering into a puddle, and seeing the trees and sky reflected above.
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You rush to answer your phone, only to find that it’s phone spam. It’s some nasty automated calling system, and what it says when you answer is local septic tank owners. … I never get any further than that, because I hang up. But, hmm, maybe I should have listened last time, because then I’d [...]
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Here’s an article from The Tyee about a revival of First Nations’ staple foods. The article summary: Women are leading a revival of First Nations’ staple foods. To get lucky, you have to get mucky. I’ve never heard of wapato (it’s mentioned in the article) before — have you? But the article does mention a [...]
Filed in environment,First Nations,food,Gabriola Island,native plants 2 Comments so far
A while ago I showed you a Gabriola trailmarker made of a sharp thing stuck into a tree. This trailmarker looks even sharper, don’t you think? It’s on the trail down from the Middle of Nowhere Forest to the Middle of Nowhere Stream and Sodden Lands. You’ll want your gumboots if you go past the [...]
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Imagine a log cabin that’s completely different from any log cabin you’ve ever seen. Now go look at hey, that’s not how you build a log cabin at gizmodo.com. Cool or what? I want one.
Filed in environment 4 Comments so far
It looks like a trail there, it really does. But I’ve explored it several times over the last few years, and it goes nowhere. There’s what looks like a trail for a short distance, and then what is absolutely not a trail after that. A while ago my observant friend pointed out that a beer [...]
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Here’s something I spotted in the Gabriola woods today. Remind you of anybody? Looks like a muppet to me. Some people see horsies in the clouds. I see muppets and monsters and bears made of moss. They’re everywhere! Muppets and monsters and bears, oh my!
Filed in Gabriola Island,native plants,photos Comments Off
I love the signs at Harvest Thyme. One realizes that the sign-maker has a personality, opinions, a sense of humour, too. Nice change from the bland signs in most food stores, yes? Betcha those carrots are delicious.
Filed in food,Gabriola Island,photos Comments Off
