From good.is: Backyard Bunnies Are the New Urban Chickens.
By now we all know that eating a lot of meat—especially factory-farmed meat—isn’t very good for the planet. Fortunately for meat eaters, some meats are more sustainable than others. And as it turns out, rabbit is one of the healthiest, leanest, and most environmentally friendly meats you [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, food No Responses yet
I hiked in Gabriola’s 707 Acre Wood today, and came across this: a few trees wearing, um, sweaters? Really. I am not making this up. Somebody has been knitting for trees, and now several trees are sporting fanciful knitted stripes.
I don’t know many knitters, and don’t knit myself. But a friend who does knit came [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, trails No Responses yet
There are 25 wild turkeys in this particular flock. I met them on South Road at Lochinvar, just across the street from the Gabriola Museum. Later they moved up the road a bit to the Gabriola RCMP Station. And later? They’ll be at your house, oh yes they will, terrorizing your dog.
That turkey at our [...]
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So, there’s a certain part of the Gabriola woods where there ought to be a trail. It would be so convenient. It would save me from going down to that other place and then turning back up again. And besides: I’ve bushwhacked through the should-be-a-trail-here place several times. Dense salal. Difficult. So yes, would be [...]
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On December 7th, 2008, this blog featured the Atrevida and its history along with a photo of Gabriola’s first ferry. It inspired me to take a closer look at the history of the Atrevida.
The Atrevida, built in 1928, began its life as the Gabriola ferry in 1931 when the B.C. Government decided to fund a [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, ferries, history No Responses yet
Have you seen this fish? It’s a Pacific Sand Lance: a tiny thing, just a couple of inches long at most, and skinny.
The Pacific Sand Lance is a common sight on Gabriola’s sandy beaches, especially in summertime. Of course you might see schools of them in the water, but you’re more likely to notice when [...]
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I’m rather fond of wildlife in general but my least favourite critters on Gabriola have to be the monster slugs. Like these two, photographed in the very act of sneaking up on my boot for some unknown but possibly nefarious purpose.
I didn’t clue in until today that the black slug (also apparently known as the [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, environment 5 Comments so far
Some readers of this blog are in other parts of Canada, dreaming of their next visit to Gabriola, or the Gabriola property they’re planning to buy very soon now. They imagine an early and perfect Gabriola spring, full of sunshine, warm breezes, and early-blooming flowers.
Um, people? Just so you know, it’s snowing on Gabriola today. [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, weather One Response so far
What do you think this un-sign is saying? Is it:
There’s something I wanted to tell you, but now I can’t remember what it was!
Look! I am framing nature for you! or
Something else altogether?
There are a lot of these signs that aren’t around Gabriola. This one is on Lochinvar Lane, just opposite the exit from Folklife [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island One Response so far
On Gabriola, we have serious problems with invasive plants. Broom, daphne, honeysuckle, holly, English ivy, blue iris — these are just a few of our problems, and they’re spreading at an alarming rate. They Aren’t From Here. They take more resources than they should, and steal nutrients and water that native plants should be getting. [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, Nanaimo, gardening, invasive plants, native plants 2 Comments so far
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases
Because it’s a fungus, that’s why.
(Apologies to John Keats.)
Filed in Gabriola Island, mushrooms, native plants, photos No Responses yet
I’ve been wondering where the YOGI trail got its name, and stumbled across the answer on the on the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust site. The Cox Community Park History page says:
It was named the YOGI Trail because of its proximity to the landmark rock figure erected by the Youth Organization of Gabriola Island in [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island, history, trails 2 Comments so far
As a child, I spent many summer holidays with an aunt who was fascinated by cemeteries and could hardly pass one without stopping to take a look. She would have loved the one on Gabriola. It’s a spot I enjoy visiting even though I don’t know anyone buried there and am not at all religious. [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 4 Comments so far
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 2 Comments so far
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 3 Comments 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 [...]
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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
