Beauty on Gabriola Island

We have discovered the fun of walking the beaches to discover treasures that the tide has brought in. Nothing can match our walks close to the ocean.  There is such a variety of beaches on this island;  from sandy, to pebbles, to rocky and to big boulders.  I breath deep and marvel at the scent of the air.  It is a clean warm smell today.  My walks are short as I am still out of breath from the pleurisy in my lungs but my priority is to stay outside as much as I can to soak up the vitamin D's in the warm air.  So I grab onto this season and all that it offers me.

George and Jake love to go on their walks several times a day, too.  George just needs to whisper the word "walk" and Jake turns all giddy and gets all excited to go.  I think beach trips are his favorite now, too.

Oh, Jake has a girl-friend next door.  Her name is "Annie" and she wants to play with him.  It's so funny to see her looking through the fence at him with her eyes shinning with adoration.  He just tries to be so cool, goes and gives her a quick hello and then turns away pretending he is not interested.

Building Pergola / Arbour on Gabriola Island

Geo and I have been busy building a pergola / arbour in our yard on the island.  We have decided to use locally grown cedar that has been cut on the island.

We've also started to build a solid cedar fence to enclose and hide the rain water collection tank  The posts are all cemented and Geo has started to put up the top pieces on the pergola.

UPDATE:
We have finished the arbor and it looks lovely with the flowers blooming.  We have also finished staining the fence, too.

Espaliered Apple Tree on Gabriola Island

March 20, 2014 
Geo and I purchased an Espaliered Apple Tree.  The tree has six different branches from six different types of apple trees grafted onto a main trunk.  I first noticed this type of apple tree last spring when we first moved to the Island.   For a small tree it was loaded with different apples.  The tree we purchased has a main trunk with 6 branches from 6 different types of apple trees grafted onto it.  It looks pretty spindly right now.

The term "espalier" refers to the practice of training a tree to grow along one flat vertical plane in a flattened fashion, such as along a wall or on the side of a house.  We plant our tree between our deer fence and the road that goes down to the back of our lot and will need to continue to train it so that it remains in a flat vertical fashion so that the branches do not grow out towards the road.

...and I recorded the different types of apples that are on this tree:

...and this is what we hope our apple tree will look like...

Sea Lions off of Gabriola Island

California Sea Lions frequent the coastal waters off of our island.  California Sea Lions differ from Stellar Sea Lions because they have darker pelage (which looks black when wet) and by their ridged foreheads. For the past months sea lions have been feeding on herring that come here to spawn in our bay.

California Sea Lions can weigh up to 850 lbs and grow up to 8 feet long.  Females are smaller at 210 lbs and 6.5 ft long.  You can hear the sea lions barking and grunting loudly as they are very vocal.

Sea lions have small visible flaps for their outer ears.  They have broad large flippers which they use to walk on land.  (Note:  Seals have to flop on their bellies when on land.)

Stellars are less plentiful than California Sea Lions and most are found off of the west coast of Vancouver Island.  Stellar males can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms and have thick gold manes around their enormous necks.

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"Souls" Poem by Lynn Underwood

I like this poem written by Lynn Underwood and hope that she doesn't mind me sharing her great writing about our SOULS.  As many of you close to me know that we lost our son to suicide a year and a half ago.  Today is our son's birthday and this poem just happened to find its  way to me.  My son lived his life to the fullest and crammed everything that he enjoyed into the years he spent her with us.  Remembering...

All this talk of saving souls.
Souls weren't made to save,
like Sunday clothes that give out at the seams

They're made for wear; they come with lifetime guarantees.
Don't save your soul.
Pour it out like rain on cracked, parched earth.

Give your soul away, or pass it like a candle flame.
Sing it out, or laugh it up the wind.

Souls were made for hearing breaking hearts,
for puzzling dreams, remembering August flowers,
forgetting hurts.

These men who talk of saving souls!
They have the look of bullies
who blow out candles before you sing happy birthday,
and want the world to be in alphabetical order.

I will spend my soul,
playing it out like sticky string
so I can catch every last thing I touch.

-Lynn Underwood 

Rain on Gabriola Island

Heavy rain again last night.  The water is much needed after the dry summer here last year.  Because water is such an important issue Islanders are always talking about it.  Summers can be very dry here on this island.  Part of island life is living with the occasional uncertainty about water supply.

Winter and spring rains tend to replenish the ground water and fill the cistern tanks, too.  Water conservation is always good practice here on the island.  The only natural fresh water that arrives here on the island is rain water. There are really no rivers, streams or waterfalls - except those formed when it pours down rain for days.

The rainfall collects in wetlands and small ponds.  We have found Skunk Cabbage plants growing in these ponds today.  You can only guess why they are called skunk cabbage!

It is warm out but there is wood smoke in the air from heating our homes early this morning.

Warm again

The signs of spring are so welcome.  The birds have started their early morning chorus again.  So much is trying to grow.  Little buds on the red maple trees and new buds on the rose bush.  The robins that have hidden during the snow storm are out once again looking for worms in the lawn.

Water Tank is full...

March 8, 2014
Rain water has been cascading down and off our roof.  The eaves troughs are so full the water is flowing over top of them.  What a rain!

It has rained hard enough and long enough now that combined with all the moisture from the melted snow, our water cistern has filled.  We put this rain water collection system in last fall after seeing what the dry summer did to the plants in our yard.  We know we have a good well, but we were scared of pulling it to hard.  Our house has a steep large metal roof and is perfect for the collection of rain water.  In about 2 weeks the 1500 gallon tank was full.  We will use this water this spring and summer to supplement our well water to keep our plants and garden watered.

Rubber boots and rain slickers are now in fashion in the village.  The humidity right now is 100%.  You get wet just standing in the air.

Snowdrop Flowers ... Spring is Coming!

March 7, 2014
We have found snowdrop flowers in full bloom down by Degnan Bay this afternoon.

There is plenty of ivy growing wild down the banks on the side of the road and so we cut several pieces of it to take home and root.

I plan to plant this ivy in our yard so that it will grow up the fence and possibly the deck posts.

Daffodils are everywhere!

Daffodils and other flowering bulbs are pushing up out of the ground in South facing and protected areas. Spring is coming!

The garlic bulbs that had started to sprout before the snow storm seem to have either died or retreated into the ground again.  I only hope that they will rise again as soon as it warms up again.  The flowers against the front of the house have been blooming for awhile now.

The ditches are full and running fast from the melted snow and rains that we have been having everyday now. The fields are soggy.

Snow is all gone...

March 6, 2014
The snow is all gone and we are back to spring-like weather. The rain and the rise in temperature has depleted all the snow.  There is some sun, more clouds, and then rain.

George is training our dog Jake.  When they come in from their walks Jake will lay on the rug and wait till he gets his muddy paws wiped off now.  Hopefully this will save the floor from receiving dog prints throughout the day.  He is learning fast.

March 7, 2014
Once again, I am reminded we can't get overly anxious to get out in our yard.  Rain, low clouds and grey ocean make up the views outside lately.  Living on this small island has undoubtedly contributed to a calmness in our lives.  I find it incredibly comforting and relaxing just sitting and drinking my cappuccino in the morning while looking out the widows into the forest.  I never find this bores me.  There is a sense of constancy in nature that is comforting.  Too often we rush through our day anxious to complete long lists of tasks and work.  The pace of our society is frantic and there is always pressure to do things.  This is one of the reasons we have decided to move to an island.

"Sometimes taking it slow takes a lot of courage in our busy world."  SC Lourie

Metanoia (n) the journey of changing one's mind, heart, self or way of life.

Remembering that I always have a choice to find joy in my life.

Return of spawning herring

After being cooped up in the house this past week we decide to drive over to Orlebar Point.  There is no evidence of them having the heavy snow that we received this past week.  The rocks on the beach here are extremely treacherous and slippery with all the green algae growth on them.  We still have a nice outing and Jake loved exploring the tide pools once again.

Jake in the tide pools at Orlebar, Gabriola Island

Hundreds of seagulls are gathering on the shores today.  Possibly in anticipation of their annual feast of the freshly spawned herring eggs that happens here in February.  The commercial fleet of seine and gill-net boats will begin to gather north of here and come down into Nanaimo and other ports, too. These waters are frequently the destination of  millions of Pacific herring that make their annual migration from the Pacific Ocean off the West coast of Canada and the U.S.A.  Parksville  is known for it's large herring spawn in it's shallow waters and sheltered coves.

From freshly spawned eggs to full grown fish, herring are targeted as a source of food.  People along with birds, predatory fish and other animals, eat herring at all their life stages.  A healthy herring spawn is important to the eco-system.

Stellar and California sea lions are in high concentrations at this time of the year on some shores. Dolphins, orcas and larger whales will also take in their share of the herring.

Seagulls at Orlebar, Gabriola Island

Wet Spring on Gabriola -2014

Last spring (2013) Gabriola Island experienced some longer drier seasons to the point of drought. There was rain in the late summer and early fall.

This year (2014) with this last heavy-wet snowfall and the rainfall in the late part of February, the water table on Gabriola Island has risen again.  The water is running along every ditch and stream down into every crack and crevice, through the thin layers of soil and down the crevices in the rock. This slow seepage will fill the aquifer below.