Walking in the Gabriola forest — off trail — I like to pretend that nobody’s come this way for hundreds of years. This happy fantasy never lasts as long as I’d like, because there’s always something that proves Somebody Was Here, no matter where I am. Now, this. Middle of woods, so… um. Who cut [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,trails One Response so far
Will there be campfires on Gabriola beaches late at night this weekend? Considering the forest fire risk on the island, we hope not. The Vancouver Sun reports that there’s a campfire ban in effect for most of BC, and that violating it can lead to $1 million fine or a jail term. Anyone found in [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 6 Comments so far
Lauren is getting married on Gabriola this Sunday. She writes to Gabriolan.ca to say that she’s searching for flowers on Gabriola: …I am coming up from Victoria for my wedding and I need flowers — I would love to buy them locally, but I don’t know if there’s a flower farm (or vendor) on the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 5 Comments so far
Sidney Spit isn’t too far from Gabriola, and has a Coast Salish heritage similar to ours. So perhaps you’d like to read about archaeology students sifting for Coast Salish relics at Sidney Spit. From the Times Colonist: Along a spit of sand on Sidney Island, archeologists are racing rising tides and the wear of the [...]
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Tansy ragwort is a huge problem on Gabriola. If you’ve got some of this invasive plant on your property or on the road outside your house, pull it out! Here, the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands’ tansy ragwort page explains that this plant is poisonous: Tansy ragwort contains at least six pyrrolizidine alkaloids which [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,invasive plants One Response so far
If you garden on Gabriola, deer are a problem, and you have to work around that. Do you ever wish we had a baboon problem instead? The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says this is the way to get baboons to move along: Baboons are intelligent and crafty; they can raid human dwellings and [...]
Filed in gardening 3 Comments so far
You’re leaving Silva Bay or Pages in your sailboat, thinking about the hurried pace of the world. You wish things like international shipping still happened at the speed of sail. Oh wait – what’s this article from the Guardian? Modern cargo ships slow to the speed of the sailing clippers. The world’s largest cargo ships [...]
Filed in boating 4 Comments so far
Here’s something for Gabriola gardeners to ponder: Gee Whiz: Human Urine Is Shown to Be an Effective Agricultural Fertilizer. From Scientific American: The beets Surendra Pradhan and Helvi Heinonen-Tanski grew were perfectly lovely: round and hefty; with their skin a rich burgundy; their flavor sweet and faintly earthy, like the dirt from which they came. [...]
Filed in environment,gardening Comments Off
Here we go with Gabriola in the news again: Let’s put fighting drugs in some context, says the Daily News. …what has been happening on Gabriola Island highlights a growing issue in B.C., and that is the prevalence of hard drugs in every community. Let’s not be coy about it, we all know that people [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island One Response so far
Well, this is fun. From the Ottawa Citizen: Vending machine library hits the spot. It looks like a regular vending machine, the kind you might feed loonies and toonies in exchange for a chocolate bar or bag of chips. But if you were looking for a quick junk-food fix from this unit, you’d be out [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
A bunch of people camped on Whalebone Beach last night. Must have been a party, judging from the mess they left behind on the beach: empty beer cans, broken glass, a cigarette package, used toilet paper… oh my. They’ve had a campfire, and scorched an India Pale Ale beer can in the flames. Considering the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island Comments Off
Gabriola, I’ve found the perfect summer dessert for you. Get some blueberries. Village Foods has some at the moment, and Spud has yummy organic blueberries. You’ll want 840g, which is about 6 cups. Also buy two limes, some sugar, and a sprig of mint. Oh, and some crème fraîche (or sour cream). That’s it. Now [...]
Filed in food One Response so far
If you had hoped to have the cutest and furriest feet on Gabriola, I’m afraid you’ll have to give up on that fantasy. Your feet don’t look as if Dr Seuss drew them into existence, do they? And your toe-fur doesn’t curl into delightful swirls when it’s wet, does it?
Filed in dogs,Gabriola Island 4 Comments so far
I think one of Gabriola’s sea-side golfers is at it again – one of the send the balls into the sea crowd. See? Golf balls in tidal pools again. (I’ve already mentioned Why I worry about golf balls on Gabriola beaches.)
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
From the Daily News: Cops want help in island drug fight. Gabriola RCMP want the public to help them crack down on drug activity on the Island, but one officer says that some people in the tight-knit community might be reluctant to turn in their neighbours.(…) You think? Gabriola RCMP say enforcement and education surrounding [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island Comments Off
I have an account at the Gabriola branch of the Coastal Community Credit Union… maybe you do, too. They’ve recently implemented new online security features, and now they want customers to select three questions from the following list:
Filed in Gabriola Island 4 Comments so far
Lots of people on Gabriola feed the neighbourhood deer. I wonder if those folk have seen this Globe and Mail article: Deer, woman faceoff in Victoria. An early morning stroll turned into a harrowing experience for a Greater Victoria woman when she was attacked by a deer just metres from her suburban home Tuesday, the [...]
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Need some weird tech news to start your day? Here you go. From physorg.com: Introducing Cornucopia, the food printer. US scientists have introduced a concept design of the Cornucopia or Digital Fabricator, a personal food factory able to print food from specified ingredients, with no waste at the point of cooking. [continue] I can imagine [...]
Filed in food 4 Comments so far
