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.

Raining now...

Feb. 28, 2014
The soil is water logged now as the snow melts and it starts to rain again.  Every stream and every ditch is full and running  There are even small waterfalls coming down out-of and off the rock cliffs.   Every planter is drenched and water logged.

This is the season where the rain can lash down for days at a time.  It is definitely the rainy season! These are good days for wood fires, painting, reading, writing, baking and visiting.

Well over a foot of snow on Gabriola Island

We went out for a drive today around the island.  Up on the highest parts of the island, at the top of Brickyard and also up on top of Pat Burns Road,  there is 1 1/2 to 2 feet of snow sitting.  On Orlebar Point there is hardly any evidence of them having any snow.  Most of the power has been restored now. Some of the homes on the island had been without electricity for 5 days.  At the peak of the outages caused by this storm,  BC Hydro said that there were 25,000 BC Hydro customers without power.

In an article in the local newspaper "Gabriola Sounder" it states that " it has been one of the driest November to January periods in at least twenty years.  The period of November to January is critical for recharging Gabriola's natural storage of fresh water in the fractured rock aquifer.  According to the historic rainfall for November to January rainy period, the rainfall for each of those months was the lowest, of the last 22 years. The good news is the island has received more rainfall than the average for the month of February."

It seems that this past rain and snowfall will make it a record moisture drop for February.  Gariola usually gets 30-45 inches of rain per year.

Power is Back On and Sun is Out

Our power came back on this afternoon.  We were lucky as there are still numerous homes on the island that are without power.  I guess it all depended on where the trees fell on the power lines.

All of our neighbours are telling us that we must have bought the snow with us from Alberta as they rarely get this amount on the Island.  Usually, they may get a skiff that melts right away.  We now have 10" of wet snow on the ground and it is plus 4 degrees.  There is a beautiful sunny sky today!  I am most thankful for our wood stove, a battery powered headlamp and a good book.

It looks like there may be a lot of damage to the plants in the yard because of the heavy snow and ice.  Geo has been out several times to try and knock the snow off of them to try and save them.  There are some new Hellebore flowers that have just come out close to the house.  They don't seem to care that it is not warm out.

Snowed-in On Gabriola Island

Today the road into our house on the Island looks so much like the road into our home in Bragg Creek.  The difference is that the temperature here on the Island remains above 0 degrees.  Friends in Calgary have emailed me telling me that it is currently -38 with a wind chill on top of that.

Our power went off at 8:00 AM and we are very lucky that we have a wood stove that puts out a lot of heat.  Hopefully it won't be out that long - but they say that when the power goes out on this island it tends to take awhile to get it back on.

We light up our wood stove and put the matches and candles so that we can find them when it gets dark.  We organize the battery operated radio and find the head lamp so that we can read if the power stays off.  George brings in extra wood and chops more kindling, too.  He fills a 5 gallon pail so that we will have water to flush down the toilets sparingly.  The one thing we missed doing is putting the car out closer to the road.  We just didn't think the snow would come down like it did.

Lucky for us that I had made a big pot of curried chicken and rice the night before.  We put the left overs in a pan on top of the wood stove for our supper.  Kinda like camping out.

More Snow

Am I complaining?  Absolutely, snow and cold are my enemies!  We seem to be in a very unbalanced weather pattern the past few days which honestly is pissing me off.  Warmth and then wham, snow!  Forcing me to put on my winter parka that I planned to burn when we moved here to the island and my West Coast winter rubber boots to go outside and check our plants.  Our curly willow tree has toppled over because of the weight of the snow.  Geo has been out several times and knocked the snow off of the plants trying to save them.

SNOW On Gabriola Island!

Snow on Gabriola Island!  What the heck!  Not just a skiff either!
At the same time the newly sprouted daffodils are shivering and wondering why they were so anxious to show their heads yesterday.

With all this snow it is beginning to look like Bragg Creek.

Spring Pruning on Gabriola

The air has been relatively warm since we arrived back on the Island.  Today we've pruned the rose bush and all the other bushes and trees that grew so large last summer.  I also cut back all the ferns to about 5 inches tall and hope that they will grow all new shoots soon.

The urge to garden is great - but it is still early.

Ferry Schedules to Gabriola Island

The ferry schedules have all been changes since we were last on the island and will change again for summer travel.  The B.C. government has made several cuts to the different schedules that service the islands.  The BC Ferry Corp acts as the province's sea-going highway connecting islands.  It is also a life-line for islanders.  Some Islanders are very dependent on the ferry to take them to Nanaimo to work.

There is a timelessness here on Gabriola except when it comes to the ferry schedules when trying to get to and from the island.  Ferry routes are our marine highways.

Today, the ferry line up for sailing to Nanaimo from Gabriola Island is fairly short.  Summer is over and the tourists have all gone home.  The ferry is on a new schedule because of cut-backs and the season.

Often we have got into discussions about the development of this island.  The electrician we hired for a small job told us that he was leaving the island as he was tired of catching ferries and was ready for change.  He said he would like to see a bridge built to connect the islands.  He wanted change but tells us that the older folk do not.  Perhaps he forgot why most people come to, or stay on this island - for a simpler, quieter, easy-going life and to be away from the rat race of the big cities.  The price of change would be the tranquillity that was originally sought.  So at present there is a big debate over building a bridge to connect islands to mainland.

Across the mountains and back to the Island...

...Leaving Bragg Creek for Gabriola, Feb. 15, 2014

The trip through the mountains was treacherous from Revelstoke to Hope as the highway was a sheet of ice.  Even though we had our 4x4 truck loaded down with boxes of art books for weight, we needed to have more aggressive winter tires or chains.  George is a great driver but I tend to get car sick with sudden curves or up and down motions.  By the time we arrived in Kamloops  my guts were churned up pretty good.  By the time we got to Hope my finger nails needed to be retrieved from the arm rest.  We made it safe and sound but others were not so lucky as we seen at least 4 bad accidents on the way.  I have sworn that I will never travel through the mountains in the winter again.

Once we arrived at Hope the weather changed... no more snow.  There was light rain in Vancouver and the ferry ride to Vancouver Island was smooth.

Feb 17.2014
Coming home to Gabriola Island this time, I noticed how green and mild it is now.  The evergreens, ferns and grass are all so lush and green and there is a mildness in the climate now.

Feb 18, 2014
Morning showers and mild days.  We are anxious to get outdoors as it is warm and sunny.  I notice that the garlic bulbs that I planted last October before we left are trying to lift their heads above the ground.

We get busy cutting back the overgrown trees in our yard.  They were all pruned right down last February when we bought the property and it seems they all grew right back through-out the summer, plus some.   Plants actually like to be cut back.  After they are pruned they put even more energy into growing and seem to thicken out.