Whalebone is in shadows in the late afternoon, but beautiful still. See those dots in the water? Most of them are seals — I counted sixteen of them, though they don’t all appear in this photo. They pop up, look around, pop down… and I can never seem to get a clear zoom shot of [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, sea creatures No Responses yet
See those sticks, carefully wedged between the two trees? They make a nice seat. Then there’s the ring of stones on the ground in front of the seat — a campfire circle, it seems. A bit further along there are clothes draped on a tree. Pillows and bedding hang from a log, probably to air [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, Gabriola people 3 Comments so far
So, old cars. There are a lot of them in the Gabriola forest, you know, rotting away. Mostly they’re in pieces, and being gradually covered in moss and salal. They’re usually a bit off the beaten path. Sometimes car parts become trail markers or salal decorations, like this tire rim.
Filed in Gabriola Island, junk in the forest, photos One Response so far
You know those things people buy to cover the backs of their pick up trucks? I think they’re called canopies. (Example photos from Google images.) Most of them are rather ordinary.
And then there’s this one, which I spot at Folklife Village quite regularly. Look at that: all wood, reflects trees. Wow.
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos No Responses yet
Here’s another invasive plant that’s taking over swaths of the Gabriola forest. Pretty isn’t it? Beautiful, in fact. But oh, such a problem!
At least when I find honeysuckle strangling trees, I can get in there with my clippers and free the trees in a matter of minutes. But this? I think I’d need knives and [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, invasive plants No Responses yet
Are Gabriola bees in trouble? The Vancouver Sun reports that 90 per cent of bee colonies have been wiped out on Vancouver Island. Since Gabriola is so close to Vancouver Island, it’s hard to imagine that our bees have fared much better.
If bees don’t polinate your veggies and flowers, and if bees don’t pollinate local [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, food, gardening, insects No Responses yet
They’re not very obvious, these: I walked past this trail blaze for years before I finally spotted it. There are a whole series of arrows on Douglas fir trees, leading one through the Gabriola woods.
Of course, these days there’s a very clear path as well, but I expect that the arrows came first.
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, trails 2 Comments so far
Sorry about the snow this morning, kids. It happened because I thought about taking my snow tires off, and that always makes snow happen.
Filed in Gabriola Island, weather 2 Comments so far
I am smitten with this fungus. Smitten! I obsess about it, because isn’t it gorgeous? Ok, maybe this photo doesn’t do it justice. See more photos here.
I wish a mushroom expert would arrive to help me identify the fungi I find in the Gabriola woods, because that would be ever so helpful. I think this [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, mushrooms, photos No Responses yet
The little gnomes have gone missing from the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve. Did their owner come and reclaim them? Did somebody steal them? One wonders.
Swamp lanterns are starting to bloom.
Salmonberries are in bloom.
The salal deep in the woods was dry one afternoon for the first time in months.
Annoying weeds are back in one’s garden. But [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island No Responses yet
Most of Gabriola has been logged at least once. I understand the whole idea of cutting down trees and selling the wood for profit. What I don’t understand is why there are so many massive logs like this rotting away in the Gabriola woods.
This tree didn’t just fall over: it was cut down. And left [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, history, native plants No Responses yet
This sign is at the top of the Stalker Road hill near Drumbeg. Every time I see it I wonder: is this the steepest bit of road on Gabriola, or is there something steeper?
Surely one of you will know, because you know everything about Gabriola. Right?
Filed in Gabriola Island No Responses yet
Those who love Gabriola petroglyphs had best head over to Northwest Coast Archaeology to read qmackie’s latest blog post: Adams on Gabriola Petroglyphs. It begins:
One recent M.A. thesis I was really looking forward to reading is by Amanda Adams entitled Visions cast on stone : a stylistic analysis of the petroglyphs of Gabriola Island, B.C., [...]
Filed in First Nations, Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
Here’s some cheer for you from the Gabriola Commons, where this marker adorns a garden.
I don’t garden at the Commons, but oh MY I love that place.
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos No Responses yet
There are lots of pails in the Gabriola forest, probably dating from the time when the forest was logged. Since then the pails have started blending in, bit by bit: trees fell on them, moss grew over them, salal grew around them. Every once in a while some hiker spots a bit of plastic, drags [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, junk in the forest, trails No Responses yet
Here’s one of the things you’ll see in the Gabriola woods if you prowl around a bit. It’s a slime mold, and isn’t it just too cool for words?
Wikipedia explains that a slime mold is a broad term describing fungus-like organisms that use spores to reproduce. (…) Slime molds have been found all over the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, native plants, photos No Responses yet
Here’s another trailmarker in the Gabriola woods: a glass perfume bottle that sits on an old stump.
It’s always fun to see what weird stuff appears in the woods, but this one I worry about. The bottle is made out of glass, and the sun shines through that decorative stopper, which is also glass. Is it [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, trails No Responses yet
I’ve already shown you one fine modified sign on Gabriola — here’s another.
I love the subtlety of this modification. Skateboarding is a mode of transportation in the warm months on Gabriola. Adding wheels underneath this pedestrian must have been too much to resist.
(This sign is on North Road, across the crosswalk from Folklife Village.)
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos One Response so far
From the Nanaimo Daily News: Gabriola children go green with their lunches.
Gabriola Elementary School students are being recognized for their passion to go green as they bring lunch back to basics.
In the only school on Gabriola Island, the close-knit community of 173 students is working to provide locally-grown, nutritious lunches while eliminating waste. Plans include [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island No Responses yet
This seems to be new, yes? Looks like the Gabriola Commons is creating yet another space for a community garden.
I’m a little tempted to apply for a plot. But then, I can garden at home, so maybe I should leave those Gabriola Commons spaces for people who don’t have the home-gardening option. I’d just like [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island No Responses yet
About a well-known Gabriola person: Ah, she’s a hard rock to navigate.
About things that aren’t expensive: Cheaper than borscht!
About being pleased with things: Happier than a clam at high tide.
About the quadrupeds who want to eat one’s garden: Venison on the hoof.
About our island: Gabriola is an argument completely surrounded by water.
Filed in Gabriola Island No Responses yet
From the Islands Trust: Gabriola Island couple become first to join property tax exemption program.
Stanley and Maxine McRae are the first landowners on Gabriola Island to receive an annual property tax exemption recognizing the permanent conservation covenant they placed on their property.
The Islands Trust introduced the Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program (NAPTEP) to the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, Gabriola people, environment One Response so far
I’m interested in Gabriola’s trees, but not for the usual reasons. I want to know what they look like in various stages of decay, both before and after they fall to the ground. That rotting log or that moss-covered branch: was it a cedar tree? Grand fir? Douglas fir? Alder? I’m getting better at this.
Part [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, environment, mushrooms, photos No Responses yet
Ok, Gabriola gardeners, here’s a question for you. When’s our ‘last frost’ date in a typical year? Have any of you been keeping track of this?
Some of my seed packages say plant after last frost, while others say things like sow indoors two weeks before last frost date or some such. So that’s why I’m [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, gardening, weather 3 Comments so far
Last June I found a front derailleur serving as a trail-marker in the Gabriola woods. And now, not too far away, here’s the rear derailleur.
(It marks the location of an awesome mushroom that I must remember to photograph in September, when it’ll be at its peak.)
Filed in Gabriola Island, photos, trails One Response so far
