Gabriola wildfire hazard rating sign
Filed in Gabriola Island 14 Comments so far
Archive for March, 2010
Gabriola Radio update: CRTC says no to Rogers
From the Daily News: CRTC denies Rogers in bid for FM signal. After blocking a Gabriola Island group access to a radio signal, Rogers Broadcasting has now also been turned down by the CRTC. But the Gabriola Radio Society isn’t sure yet whether it will have enough money to reapply for the disputed 98.7 FM [...]
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Wind power for Gabriola – DIY?
Remember the questions Michael Mehta asked us about living off-grid on Gabriola? The resulting Shingle article (Living off-grid: Is this something you should consider?) is now out. One of the things Michael says in the article is: …it’s clear to me that wind resources on Gabriola Island are more than adequate to power small-scale turbines [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
A Modest Proposal, Part 1
On Friday afternoon, January 30, 1970, the colourful member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Frank Ney, Social Credit, Nanaimo, was holding forth on the greatness of his city. Among other things, such as promoting canned dogfish, he had some words to say about the upcoming 1971 bathtub race. MR. NEY: …I would like [...]
WWOOF on Gabriola
Do you know about WWOOF? It stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It’s a volunteer program. The idea is that you go off to some area you’d like to visit, and spend your time volunteering on an organic farm there. You work 4-6 hours a day on the farm; your meals and accommodations [...]
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Herring roe and hemlock
Did you see herring roe sparkling on seaweed last week? Did you watch Gabriola’s birds and wildlife feeding on the herring? If so, maybe you’ll be interested in the way First Nations people harvested herring roe. Almost everywhere along the British Columbia coast where herring are known to spawn — from Coast Tsimshian territory in [...]
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Sam of Gabriola
This is Sam, who rides around on the back of a bicycle. I found him outside Village Foods this evening, as his human went off to do some grocery shopping. I’ve seen Sam all over Gabriola. He sure gets around!
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Gooseberry blossoms
Last year it was May when Gabriola’s native gooseberries bloomed, and I told you about them. This year they’re in bloom now, in March. Interested in seeing some of these blossoms for yourself? If you haven’t noticed any near your house, try this: Park at the end of Jeanette and head into the 707 Acre [...]
Extreme composting
Most people on Gabriola seem eager to help the environment in whatever way they can, so I suppose it’s not surprising that we have a local guy who’ll talk your ear off about humanure if he gets half a chance. Today I happened across a link to this story at Time Magazine: Humanure: Goodbye, Toilets. [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 4 Comments so far
Gabriola’s daffodils
There are clusters of daffodils all over Gabriola in the spring, mainly along North Road and South Road. Somebody must have gone all ’round the island planting them, some years ago. These ones are at Brickyard Beach.
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Can you smell or hear Harmac on Gabriola?
You live on Gabriola, so you know about the Harmac pulp mill in Nanaimo, just a mile or so from our island. And you’ve probably been reminded of Harmac’s presence when the wind blows from Harmac to Gabriola, and you get That Pulp Mill Smell. Not so pleasant. What I want to know is this: [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 7 Comments so far
Gabriola bookstore news
Today I heard that the bookshop at Twin Beaches will soon be moving to Folklife Village, to occupy the space where the Jeremy Maude Studio used to live. This is brilliant news for Gabriola readers. Dear bookstore people: for the love of God, please be open on Mondays, mmmkay? Because the Gabriola Library is closed [...]
Filed in books,Gabriola Island 3 Comments so far
More about that bee problem
From ScienceNews.org: Bees face ‘unprecedented’ pesticide exposures at home and afield. For years the news has been the same: Honey bees are being hammered by some mysterious environmental plague that has a name — colony collapse disorder — but no established cause. A two-year study now provides evidence indicting one likely group of suspects: pesticides. [...]
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Gabriola’s installation art in the 707
For years I’ve been thinking of these piles of branches and stuff as debris, but now I’ve been living on the Isle of the Arts long enough to see the truth of it all. It’s art. Of course it is. Look at the symmetry, the composition! The angles! The use of colour! Regular readers will [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,junk in the forest,trails Comments Off
Strange black mushroom
Odd, hmm? This brain-like mushroom was nestled in the grass and moss at the side of the Gabriola trail today. There were lots more, and I’m tempted to go back tomorrow to get a sample mushroom to analyse. I’m guessing it’s a false morel of some sort. (Didn’t have time to take mushroom samples today, [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,mushrooms 10 Comments so far
Fourth Gabriola forest birdhouse
Here’s another installment in the Gabriola birdhouse mystery. I’ve already shown you the first, second, and third birdhouses. Then there were no new discoveries for a while, so I thought that was the end of this particular series. But no! Just recently the house shown here has appeared. These birdhouses are all placed on extremely [...]
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Timberframe cabin
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about houses and such, but of course I’m always on the lookout for interesting small house designs — houses I can imagine seeing on Gabriola, and houses that are appealing enough to make me think I could live there! Here’s today’s cool little house: timberframe prefab cabin. Rather [...]
Filed in environment One Response so far
Root cellar – a great summer project?
Today I was listening to a radio phone-in show about simplifying one’s life and living well on a smaller income. One of the callers suggested that many people could live better and cheaper if building codes required all new buildings to have a cold storage room. I think this is a great idea that could [...]
Filed in food,Gabriola Island,gardening Comments Off
