Have you waded through eelgrass on Gabriola beaches? Me too, especially at Whalebone. I did know that eelgrass is terribly important to marine life. I didn’t know that eelgrass is edible, though — did you? From the Alberni Valley News: Eelgrass a sweet treat no more. Kids have always loved candy. But before commercially-produced candy [...]
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Here’s a tree in the Gabriola forest, and look – see how that weird fungus has plastered itself on the tree? It’s more dramatic on the other side, where woodpeckers have exposed much of the tree’s innards. So first it looked like this, and then the fungus got way out of hand, and then there [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,mushrooms One Response so far
You’ve heard of the Islands Trust Fund, right? They are the conservancy arm of the Islands Trust. They manage some of Gabriola’s special places: the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve, the Coats Millstone Nature Reserve, and three land covenants. Well. The Islands Trust Fund is looking for people to serve on Regional Conservation Plan Advisory Panels. [...]
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Remember the day when the Google Street View car drove around Gabriola? I do, because I knew right away what that vehicle was, and it drove past while I was not wearing very much. (!) Thank heavens I was still in the car. And sure enough, I can go see my car on Google Street [...]
Filed in assorted,Gabriola Island,Gabriola people Comments Off
I suspect that Gabriola’s Harvest Thyme (oh, and spud.ca, too) will be selling a lot more unscented shampoo once people read this: David Suzuki targets ‘dirty dozen’ toxic ingredients. Alarming.
Filed in Gabriola Island,lifestyles 12 Comments so far
Some of my Gabriola friends are interested in solar power, but figure they can’t use solar panels, because they live amongt tall trees and shade. For them (and for you?) there are now solutions like Mobile Solar SolMan. Huh. Looks pretty cool. Maybe one day we’ll be organized enough to do that. For now, we [...]
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When the light is right, when the clouds are right, when the day is right… then Gabriola waters almost blend into the sky. Very soothing.
Filed in Gabriola Island,photos Comments Off
Thinking of building a small house on Gabriola? You might be interested in the 10 square design competition, which asks: How much space do we really need? In an era of ballooning house sizes and constricting rental markets, it can sometimes be difficult to envision opportunities for change or innovation. 102 is a design competition [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
Gabriola’s new recycling program left me with a problem – the RDN says we can’t put glass in our recycling bins anymore. What to do with the glass, then? GIRO isn’t a convenient option for me, so I went to check out the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange. Their recycling depot is just off Bowen Road near [...]
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The Gabriola Commons has a new green roof. Have you noticed? It’s on the cob wall, and it seems to have been planted with mosses and such. This got me thinking about our local building code. If I want to put a green roof on my Gabriola house, can I do that? I’ve been meaning [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
This is one of the moss-covered stumps in the Gabriola woods. (It’s on the trail that leads down from the log bridge towards the antlers on a cedar tree and then on to the antlers that are turning green.) The branch has just appeared in the last while.
Filed in Gabriola Island,trails Comments Off
If you drive past Gabriola Elementary School, you’ve probably noticed the school garden out front. They’ve got pumpkins, kale, nasturtiums, and… hey, WHAT is that vine-thing that’s covering one corner of their fence? Today I stopped to look. It’s hops! I know about hops because I saw some in another Gabriola garden, and then went [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,gardening 5 Comments so far
Gabriola has all sorts of splendid trees, but I think these two are at the top of the list. See? They’ve grown together, and one tree has absorbed the other tree’s trunk. And yet they both grow on!
Filed in Gabriola Island,native plants,trails One Response so far
Did you get a turkey from Boultons? Will there be pie? We don’t do turkey on Thanksgiving, which is lucky for the Gabriola wild turkeys (like this one) who roam our neighbourhood and vex the dog.
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife 8 Comments so far
This is another of the wrecks rusting in the Gabriola woods. How long until the forest covers this one completely?
Filed in Gabriola Island,junk in the forest One Response so far
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning is in the news again. That reminded me of this story from October 1888. It’s from the Gabriola Edition of the Nanaimo Free Press: Charlie Peters, a Penelecut Indian, sworn, deposed: "Last Friday, I and my klootchman, Tsameston, and another Indian eat a kettleful of mussels. When we had done so our [...]
Filed in First Nations,history,native plants 4 Comments so far
If you’re a Gabriola boater, tell me: is your boat vessel large enough to have its own life raft? If it is, maybe you’ll want a to keep an eye on this story: Life Raft Makes Sea Water Drinkable. Pretty cool idea! Of course, the way it rains around here for much of the year… [...]
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Tourists usually leave Gabriola around Labour Day, but some of the crowds return for the Gabriola Thanksgiving Studio Tour, which is this weekend. And so signs like this dot the island. (The raindrops in this photo are because, already soaked from a dog walk, I wasn’t about to get out of the car to get [...]
Filed in events,Gabriola Island Comments Off
