A while ago I missed my ferry, and spent an hour exploring Descanso Bay. These tenacious little flowers remind me of the John Masefield poem that begins: I have seen flowers come in stony places And then of course I have that running through my head for days. Here’s a prettier photo of a Descanso [...]
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When we moved to Gabriola, we had a bare patch of earth where the soil had been disturbed in order to put in the septic system. It was pretty ugly. Since then it’s been returning to a managed bit of wild. I yank up trees that won’t work there, but encourage native ferns and flowers. [...]
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Gabriolan, you know that patch of burdock you posted about last year? Assuming it hasn’t been sprayed or anything, you might want to consider harvesting some of it to make cardone. Now would probably be a good time for that, while the stems are still young and tender. I was foraging at a friend’s place [...]
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In the warmer parts of the woods, salal is starting to bud. All very pretty, of course, but I’m more taken by this skeletonized salal leaf.
I’m not keen on the whole idea of painting hydro poles, because decorating somebody else’s visual space seems unfair. But if I were to go around Gabriola painting hydro poles, I’d paint them like this. I’m not sure what kind of tree it is (amabilis fir?) but I pass it on walks and am taken [...]
If you’re interested in native plants, First Nations’ traditional diets, and health, this article is for you. From Indigenous Reporting: Uprooting diabetes: Riceroot grows again. Leigh Joseph squats down in the marshy estuary toward a grey, lifeless stem poking out of the grass. In the distance, the cliff-face of the Stawamus Chief, an iconic granite [...]
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This is what we spotted in the Gabriola forest this afternoon. It’s ribes sanguineum, or red-flowering current. Have you seen these on the island? It’s the first one we’ve found.
This has got to be one of our most gorgeous native plants. It’s ribes lobbii, or gummy gooseberry. I learned a few things about it when I discovered it a few years go. The best part? The fruit is beautiful and edible. There are a couple of these plants in bloom just past the village-end [...]
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This amuses me. I’ve no idea what causes this kind of growth.
If you see a wee bit of purple in a mossy meadow, it’s worth getting down on your hands and knees for a closer look. This is what you’ll see – delicate fairyslipper orchids, just a couple of inches tall, shimmering away. The first ones appeared in the Gabriola forest last week. Now there are [...]
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If you wander through mossy meadows that are wet in winter but dry in spring, look for this flower. It’s just a tiny thing, and is is blooming now in the Gabriola woods. I think it’s viola glabella (wood violet), though the specimens I see on our island are a bit different from the viola [...]
While Dog was checking her pee-mail in the forest today, I glanced around and spotted this. It’s a sheet of arbutus bark, resting against a branch. Sunshine’s streaming through, casting a fine shadow on the bark.
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This greeted us on the trail this morning.
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I came across the oddest thing at a permaculture site: Strange nettle reaction in microwave. I put a couple stems in the microwave to warm them up…… The Nettles actualy caught fire in the microwave…I am talking actual flames and scorched stem…..weird! so I tried another stem in the microwave and it caught fire to [...]
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Ah, back at last! At this time of year I look for it everywhere I go in the forest, and have been disappointed until today. But here, see? The first Vanilla Leaf plants have risen and are unfurling, at least in the warmest part of the Gabriola woods. Now if only the Vanilla Leaf in [...]
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I’m guessing not, but this is part of an alder tree — it’s a close-up view of an alder catkin.
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Polypores want to be right-side up, but all goes sideways when the host tree falls over. To fix things, the polypore’s new growth rotates around to straighten out the situation. The result is marvellous twisty polypores, like the one shown here.
Filed in Gabriola Island,mushrooms,native plants One Response so far
If you look closely, you’ll see leaf skeletons like this on the forest floor. This is vanilla leaf. I’ve blogged about it before (Vanilla Leaf in the Gabriola woods) and am looking forward to seeing new vanilla leaf shoots pop up soon.
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