Halloween

Golf Anyone?

The view from the first tee at the Gabriola Golf and Country Club

Face In The Vines

ABC Wednesday > O is for Old-Time

 Mark Twain's definition of a gentleman: A man who knows how to play the banjo but doesn't

Believe it or not, there is a small group of Gabriolans who meet once a month to listen and learn to play old-time clawhammer banjo. The music has traveled a long way from the Blue Ridge mountains.

Global ABC

Nobody Home

For The Seniors

Seen on the South Road

Sunday Signage > Ideas?

There was certainly no shortage of good ideas floating around the room at yesterday's sustainability workshop. It was great to see so many folks so intently engaged in planning for the island's future. Big thanks to Sustainable Gabriola for putting the event together.

International Day Of Climate Action

Today is International Day of Climate Action, a massive, unified initiative which includes over 5200 events worldwide, all of which are aimed at getting our leaders to recognize the need for dramatic change in energy policy. Since cycling is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions, today's photo is a bike from the Gabriola Green Bikes Program. This afternoon, I'll be attending an open community meeting/seminar sponsored by Sustainable Gabriola, a group that has come together to begin planning for the island's future. Items on the agenda include health care, food security, water quality and quantity, housing, elder care, transportation, local currency, energy and emergency preparedness. The event is at the opposite end of the island and since burning fossil fuel to get there seems inappropriate today, my wife and I are going to leave our vehicle in the driveway and hitchhike.

There's a lot of gloom and doom in the press these days and that's understandable given the global challenges we as a species are facing. Wanna read something a little more positive? I highly recommend taking five minutes of your day to read this

Skywatch Friday #45

Global Skywatch Friday

Help The Kelp

Sometime in the mid 1990s, the once-bountiful kelp beds began disappearing from the waters off Gabriola. No one knows exactly why this has occurred, but a group of local volunteers calling themselves Help The Kelp have banded together to attempt to restore this vital indicator of ocean health. Team members include marine biologists, divers, journalists and concerned citizens. This afternoon, two divers supported by a shore crew and a kayaker, mapped out the locations for the first area to be replanted with kelp spores. With assistance from the Nile Creek Enhancement Society, they hope to seed two kilometres of coastal water off Berry Point and then monitor the progress of the spores as they grow into healthy beds.

ABC Wednesday > N is for Numbers

What's wrong with this picture?

Global ABC

Best Seat In The House

Regular readers are used to me extolling the virtues of The Roxy. One of the things that makes our little island venue so swell is the seating. There are regular theatre seats in the middle of the space but around the edges of the room, you'll find some nice soft comfy sofas and chairs like this one. My buddy Roger always tries to get through the door early enough to claim this armchair. Can you blame him?

Tara's Red Door

Remember the food porn raspberries? They came from the garden just beyond this red door.

Sunday Signage > Curves Ahead

Hand-made street sign on Taylor Bay Road

Ginkgo In The Rain

It's been raining on and off (mostly on) all week and I've not heard one single Gabriolan complain about it.

Skywatch Friday #44

Skywatch

Season's End

A sagging sunflower in the Otters allotment plots at The Commons

ABC Wednesday > M is for Mystery

Indigenous plant or invasive species?

Click here to see the other ABC participants

Cindy Church

Cindy Church has been a fixture on the Canadian music scene for a quarter of a century. Folks around here refer to her as the Canadian Emmylou Harris which is about the highest compliment one can pay. She played a reunion show at The Roxy not long ago with her old bandmate Nathan Tinkham and it was an exquisite evening of acoustic music. I had the good fortune to be in the front row with ears wide open and Leica in hand.

Monochrome Monday > Porch Light

More great monochrome images here

Sunday Signage > Studio Tour

This weekend is the annual studio tour, the biggest art event of the year. Sponsored by the Gabriola Arts Council, the tour brings visitors from all over the province to see and purchase the creations of local artists. Factoid: Also known as the Island Of The Arts, tiny Gabriola (57 sq. km.) has the fifth highest density (per capita) of working artists in all of Canada.

Tide Pool at Berry Point

Skywatch Friday #43

You can check out all the Skywatch participants from around the world here

Heide's Corn

A breeze rustling the dried leaves of corn is one of the signature sounds of fall. Today's photo taken in the south allotment garden at The Commons.

ABC Wednesday > L is for Levity

ABC global headquarters is here

Jeremy's Hand

You've seen Jeremy before, busking at the Saturday Market. Note the dent in his index finger (he'd been playing for quite a while) and his musical shirt.

This is Number 30 in the Musician's Hands series. You can see them all in one gallery here.

Monochrome Monday > Two Technologies

MM = Monochrome Maniacs

Sunday Signage > Wood Oven

The Slow Rise Bakery sells out most every time at the Saturday market at Agi Hall. The lucky customer in the background is paying for one of the last baguettes.

Golden Gate

Skywatch Friday #42

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Silva Bay

Late afternoon at Silva Bay. The float plane is operated by Tofino Air and is about to take off for Vancouver.