From Science Daily: How Bats ‘Hear’ Objects in Their Path. By placing real and virtual objects in the flight paths of bats, scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Munich have shed new light on how echolocation works. Their research is published today in Behavioural Processes. The researchers found that it is not the intensity [...]
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Did you buy three ready-to-cook turkeys today on Gabriola, and somehow lose them on the way home? I found them in the middle of North Road, still in their plastic bags. Seemed stupid to leave them there, so I’ve moved them to the side of the road in hopes that you’ll see this and know [...]
Filed in food,Gabriola Island 13 Comments so far
I want to share the results of my recent independent study on the availability of rental housing on Gabriola Island. It should be good news for those in search of more ‘affordable’ housing. It took me close to three years and involved visiting over 1000 properties on the island. The most startling finding was the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 14 Comments so far
From physorg.com: ‘Look at that!’ — ravens use gestures, too. For two years, Simone Pika und Thomas Bugnyar investigated the non-vocal behaviour of individually marked members of a wild raven community in the Cumberland Wildpark in Grünau, Austria. They observed that ravens use their beaks similar to hands to show and offer objects such as [...]
Filed in birds 3 Comments so far
We’ve all heard about the bridge-to-Gabriola idea, and remember some of the amazing arguments (like Darrell Bellaart’s) put forward to support that idea. But did you know somebody wants to build a bridge between Nanaimo and Newcastle Island? The Nanaimo News Bulletin reports: Routledge continues to test waters for bridge to Newcastle.
Filed in Nanaimo 11 Comments so far
If you’ve got a don’t do that! sign on Gabriola, chances are that somebody’s going to rip that sign down and get rid of it for you. This sign has been discarded at the side of North Road in the Tunnel. Where did it come from?
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If you’re a dog owner, you’ve probably had a few misadventures over the last few years. That time when your dog had a set-to with a raccoon, say. Or maybe you’ve come closer to the dogs in elk story than you’d like to admit. Some of the most stunning gotcha moments are when you begin [...]
Filed in dogs 8 Comments so far
The University of York has published an article about the dog hair the Coast Salish used in weaving: Researchers from the University of York have produced the first clear evidence that textiles made by the indigenous population of the Pacific coast of North America contained dog hair. In recent years, scientists have hotly debated whether [...]
Filed in First Nations,history 7 Comments so far
Unusual things turn up in the Gabriola forest, as you know if you’ve been following Gabriolan.ca long enough to see the various trailmarker blog posts. I showed you one glass skull, but a generous and talented Gabriola photographer has now sent along (much better) photos of two more glass skulls that have appeared in the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,trails 2 Comments so far
This old stump stands out back of our house. I photographed it late this summer, when the surrounding greenery was in full intensity; it’s duller now, although there are still tasty evergreen huckleberries on the bush at the right. This tree was felled a long time ago, when fallers worked two men to a tree [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,history 11 Comments so far
What is that pasta-like thing growing on the Gabriola forest floor? Doesn’t it look like a baby spaghetti plant? Well. It’s a fungus called clavaria vermicularis or clavaria fragilis. Common names include things like fairy fingers, which is pleasantly evocative. But don’t you think it looks like pasta? Before you conclude that I’m pasta-obsessed, you [...]
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Helping pollinators seems like a good idea, so some of us keep bees, and some of us have misadventures with mason bees. We’ve read about how cattle might help bees, we’ve bought Gabriola honey, and have become a bit obsessed with bees and pollination in recent years. We read bee news. But this, this is [...]
Filed in environment One Response so far
I’d thought that Gabriola’s river otters hang out near the sea, but maybe I’m wrong about that. Today I saw a river otter cross North Road near Barrett. Is that typical? Where is the furthest-from-sea location that you’ve seen river otters on Gabriola? (Photo by Dmitry Azovtsev. Found here on the Wikimedia Commons site. This [...]
Thanks to all of you who post comments here. I love reading what you have to say, and think that the comments you post are the best part of the site. For all those who’ve said “thanks to Gabriolan for hosting the election discussion” or some such – you’re very welcome. And I’m surprised. I [...]
Filed in admin 2 Comments so far
From Discovery News: Whales and Salmon: When Enemies Need Each Other. Both killer whales and Chinook salmon are endangered in the Pacific Northwest. And one of the biggest problems facing both animals is that one eats the other. According to a new study, a single small and vulnerable group of whales may eat close to [...]
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Islands Trust – Gabriola election results: Elected: Sheila Malcolmson: 1162 votes Gisele Rudischer: 825 votes Not Elected: Maggie Mooney: 730 votes Source: Islands Trust elections result page. RDN election results: Elected: Howard Houle – 781 votes Not elected: Jordy Alexander – 573 votes Eric Moeller – 158 votes Source: RDN’s Declaration of Preliminary Results page. [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,Islands Trust,RDN 12 Comments so far
This vote today sign appeared on Ferry Hill today. I don’t know how anybody on Gabriola could possibly forget that it’s election day, but in case you have forgotten… well, consider yourself reminded.
Filed in Gabriola Island One Response so far
