Gabriola fairyslippers
In this forest meadow, small groups of fairyslipper orchids are blooming. There’ll be hundreds more within a few more days. Do you have some in your yard, too? We don’t, but I hope to change that.
Archive for April, 2011
Shattered
Huge numbers of things have been dumped in the Gabriola woods over the years. Other than the grow-op trash, I’d thought we were mostly past that. Apparently not. Somebody’s taken rather a lot of broken glass and left it smashed at the side of the road, where it’s spilling into the forest. Rats.
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island,junk in the forest Comments Off
Bones on Gabriola, and what happens to them
From the dog’s perspective, one of the best things about living on Gabriola is the deer – or rather, the venison dinners. A local hunter gave us an awful lot of deer bones last fall. We froze them, and Dog gnaws on deer bones rather frequently. So the good part is that there are deer [...]
Filed in dogs,Gabriola Island Comments Off
Snuneymuxw burial site found
Gabriola Island is part of the Snuneymuxw First Nation‘s traditional territory; so is Nanaimo. And in Nanaimo, the Snuneymuxw news today is what some geocachers found. A group of geocachers found more than they were searching for on the weekend. Nanaimo RCMP confirmed Monday that a group of people on an afternoon geocaching foray discovered [...]
Filed in First Nations,Nanaimo Comments Off
Who’s been digging?
Who do you suppose makes holes like this? It’s not penny thieves; I put the penny there for scale. Is it ants? Termites? House eating monsters? What do you think, Gabriola insect-identifier people?
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects One Response so far
What would happen on Gabriola?
Consider your Gabriola neighbours, who trundle off to Folklife Village to buy some groceries. They walk into Village Foods, select what they want to buy, and head up to the cash registers. At that point they find a self-serve checkout thing, but no staff around. What do you suppose they’ll do? Will they be honourable [...]
Filed in assorted,Gabriola Island Comments Off
Nature makes us nicer
Residents of Gabriola Island have a reputation for generosity in supporting a good cause, but have you ever wondered why? There are probably many reasons, but here’s one you might not have considered: looking at nature can make you a more caring, community-oriented, and generous person. A study published in 2009 by researchers at the [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island Comments Off
Gabriola lost and found
I’m sure the Gabriola RCMP has a lost and found box, but this is the method I prefer: upon finding a lost thing in the woods, the finder hangs it on a tree. Next time you go by, you’ll see your glove, hat, or whatever waiting for you, right where you dropped it.
Filed in Gabriola Island,trails Comments Off
Cell tower in a suitcase
Here’s news for the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department, Gabriola Emergency Social Services, and for others who wonder how we might manage to make emergency calls if some huge disaster strikes Gabriola Island. From physorg.com: AT&T starts selling ‘cell tower in a suitcase’. For the first time, AT&T is selling small, portable cellular antennas that will [...]
Filed in assorted,Gabriola Island One Response so far
Net zero water
Just a few hours south of Gabriola, an elementary school is giving us all something to think about. From sfgate.com: Urban buildings unplug from water grid. In one of Seattle’s most urban neighborhoods, a small elementary school is trying to wean itself off the city’s water grid. The classroom toilet composts and treats waste on [...]
Filed in environment Comments Off
Gabriola Library and BiblioCommons
Have you noticed that the Gabriola Library (and all of the VIRL) has a new online catalogue? The old one is still available, but you now have the option of using the BiblioCommons catalogue, which has extra features.
Filed in Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
Tracks on Gabriola wood
I come across marks like this in the Gabriola forest every week or so. The tracks (I suppose that’s what they are) seem to be made by some insect or worm who gets under the bark of fallen conifers. When the bark falls off there’s a lovely sort of mirror-image: one set of marks on [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island Comments Off
Fairyslippers, yay!
The fairyslipper orchids in the Gabriola woods are coming into bloom now. Is there anything cheerier?
Filed in Gabriola Island,native plants Comments Off
The start of Gabriola tourist season
I won’t have the heart to go to Whalebone, Drumbeg, Sandwell, or any of Gabriola’s beaches this weekend. My guess is that there’ll be people camping on the beaches again (and in the woods, too, by the way) and I just don’t have the heart to see the trash, toilet paper, chicken wings, and broken [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 7 Comments so far
Waiting for the Quinsam
We’ve many fine dogs on Gabriola, but there are a few who are particular heart-stealers. This Schnauzer (well, I’m pretty sure it’s a Schnauzer) is one. The human is reading a book whilst parked in the Waiting for the Ferry lot at Descanso Bay. The dog sometimes perks up to show ears of surpassing beauty, [...]
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Gabriola Easter Egg Hunt
This year’s Gabriola Easter Egg Hunt will be on Sunday, April 24th, at the Gabriola Commons. Starts at 1pm. The hunt is being run by volunteers from the Gabriola Rod, Gun, and Conservation Club. Hunting eggs, hunting deer… all in their mandate! ;-) I don’t think kids get to shoot the eggs, though.
Filed in events,Gabriola Island Comments Off
A better way to teach math
This is for the Gabriola mom I met in the ferry waiting room at Descanso Bay a while ago; somehow we wound up talking about the struggles her kid was having with math at school. For her, and for other Gabriola parents and teachers, I offer this fascinating story from the New York Times: A [...]
Filed in assorted One Response so far
Your no-longer-valid paper tickets for the Gabriola ferry
You had a book of paper tickets for the Gabriola ferry, and were surprised when BC Ferries stopped honouring these tickets. I’ve already mentioned the class-action lawsuit for people affected by this. Now the Province reports: Probe launched into B.C. Ferries cash grab. [Source: sorry, article no longer available.] Well, it’s a start, I suppose.
Filed in ferries Comments Off
