On January 1st, a hardy lot of Gabriola swimmers met at Drumbeg to charge into the frigid sea. Here they are on the beach at the foot of Stalker Road, wading and splashing their way into cold and pain. Were you among them? Will you join them next year? (Thanks to Tom for writing to [...]
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A Gabriola photographer (and blog reader) spotted an eagle sitting in a tree at Drumbeg the other day. She sent us this photo:
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When the light is right, when the clouds are right, when the day is right… then Gabriola waters almost blend into the sky. Very soothing.
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There they were, two people wading at Drumbeg with fishing nets. They were catching sea urchin, which then went into a bucket, and then home for dinner. I grew up near Gabriola, but didn’t get the memo on sea urchins – I didn’t know they were edible. Did you? Have the rest of you been [...]
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Where does the name Drumbeg come from? Gabriola Island Place Names says that Neil Stalker owned this point at the eastern entrance to Gabriola Pass. He named it Drumbeg after his family home in Scotland. Right. You knew that, but have you ever wondered what that other Drumbeg is like? Undiscovered Scotland shows you the [...]
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When we find an octopus on the rocks at Drumbeg, I wind up with this Ogden Nash verse stuck in my head, sometimes for days: Tell me, O Octopus, I begs Is those things arms, or is they legs? I marvel at thee, Octopus; If I were thou, I’d call me Us.
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There are thousands of Camas lilies in bloom at Drumbeg now, nestled in the grass. Have you seen them? Now that we’ve less Scotch broom, we’re seeing more and more Camas lilies in the park.
At Drumbeg, Gabriola’s battle against invasive Scotch broom continues: Gabriola Land and Trails Trust organizes broom-pulling work-parties, and volunteers yank broom from the ground so that native plants can re-establish themselves. The progress this year is amazing. Next time you’re at Drumbeg, wander out to the place where the most broom grows, and take a [...]
Everybody on Gabriola knows about the broom problem at Drumbeg, and there are other invasive plants in the park as well. What I don’t understand is this: why take the time to tie an invasive plant label to this broom plant? In the time it took to do that, the person doing the tagging could [...]
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Have you seen this? It’s one of two concrete boxes at Drumbeg, up on the hill behind the broom. A reader sent me this photo, asking what these are. Well, I don’t know. Do you? My best guess is that these were built as water reservoirs, back before Drumbeg was a park. What do you [...]
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Serious photographer guy at the beach today said there are orcas breaching at Drumbeg. Have you seen them? If you’ve been watching orcas around Gabriola and have been wondering what they have for dinner, I’ve got just the thing for you. From the Times Colonist: Orcas choose to eat B.C. chinook for majority of diet. [...]
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Here’s periwinkle (vinca minor), one of Gabriola’s prettiest non-native flowers. You’ve probably seen it for sale at a garden centre, where they’ll tell you that it’s a great ground-cover because it spreads so nicely and covers up everything in sight. It’s just starting to bloom at Drumbeg. So pretty! And so invasive.
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If you live on Gabriola, you’ve seen Buddy. He’s the dog who runs beside his human’s bike as they travel all over the island. Everywhere I go, I see this dog! He must be one of the fittest dogs on Gabriola, and maybe one of the happiest, too: he gets exercise, company, fresh air, and [...]
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I don’t know what they are, and I’m too tired to look them up. But aren’t they pretty? Up and down the waves they go. I wish I were as immune to cold water as they must be.
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The other day at Drumbeg I spotted some broom plants bearing tape that says invasive plant management. The tagged plants looked kind of sickly — are they being poisoned with chemicals, or what? It looks as if some kind of experiment is underway. I know there’s been a huge effort on Gabriola (thanks, GALTT) to [...]
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It was a cloudy day when I saw the eagles here. There were about 20 of them, all perched in this dead tree, looking eerie and beautiful all at once. I wondered what on earth causes so many eagles to have a conference in a tree. It was a dead sea otter on the rocks, [...]
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We’ve got lots of undesirable and invasive plants on Gabriola, but Giant Hogweed is the nastiest and most toxic. There’s some Giant Hogweed at Drumbeg, and here and there elsewhere on the island, too. (A friend on the next block found Giant Hogweed in his back yard!) Once you see this video, you’ll know why [...]
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I live on Gabriola because it’s a rural island, so I don’t want a city-style yard with a lawn. I’d still like an area covered with something soft, short, and green… I just don’t want grass, or anything else I’d have to mow. So today I’ve been looking at the lawn alternatives page at eartheasy.com. [...]
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