Boxing Day

A lethargic fog leans on Gabriola today. Perhaps reflective of how many people are resting and digesting in a post celebratory haze.

The birds, however, are very active. Dozens of chickadees and nuthatches are swooping and bobbing in to share the feeder. We have been greeted today by all five regularly visiting woodpeckers – the brilliantly red headed Red-breasted Sapsucker, quietly domineering Northern Flicker, oh so perky and punky Pileated, the curious Hairy and the diminutive Downy.

We use both suet and seed blocks, and the apple tree by the pond still has some fruit clinging to the boughs so there is enough for all the tree climbers. The junkos and towhees prowl beneath the feed posts and trees for stray nuggets and seeds dropped in haste.

The seed block immediately outside of the kitchen window gives us closeup views of the bravest of our friends. Although so small, the chickadees are the most frequent visiters here. They often peer in at us, or keep one eye alert for any sudden movement. The Downies also remain quite calm although we are less than a metre from them. The nuthatches merely move to the other side of the block and pretend we aren't there. Out of sight, out of mind.

Tomorrow I will try to add a photo of the birds myself, but in the mean time here is one of a chickadee from wildbirds unlimited.

Planning for spring

It can rain a lot here - as you can see from the water level in the pond, and it hasn't really started yet. So we like to have some colour to counterbalance the grey days. I don't mind the rain - we need it for the wells and I appreciate the moderate climate, but it does help to have some visual brightness.

The pyrocantha (above, taken yesterday) is doing well, so we have planted another under the big cedar. It has white flowers in the spring, and the berries last for most of the winter. The winter heather will be flowering soon, it is just in bud now.

But we haven't yet decided on what to plan in the pond area. On the edges there are several areas awaiting planting in the spring such as the lower photo.

Suggestions are welcome!

It's been raining so....

This is a view of the smaller pond, with the little stone bridge and the larger pond behind it. We haven't hit the real rainy season yet, but as the next fortnight shows rain every day, I expect it will fill soon.

Vintage Malaspina Galleries

This view is from the point looking back towards the house on Gabriola. You can see how large it is.

You can see other shots of the galleries by photographer Kevin Oke at http://www.kevinokephotography.com/wordpress/2009/04/malaspina-galleries-gabriola-island-british-columbia-canada/comment-page-1/#comment-20957 , including one a high tide and one of the porous sandstone floor.

For Dad

Today is my father's 83rd birthday and he asked about Gabriola. He lives in Nova Scotia, so hasn't had the chance to see it. So I will be sending him the url so that he can get an idea of what it is like here. Happy Birthday Dad.

One of my favourite places here is Malaspina Galleries, and I am sure that he would love it too. He is a skilled photographer, and in fact when I called him today he was working on Photoshop. I am afraid that I haven't inherited that talent, so am using a photo of that K and M of http://knittingbunny.blogspot.com/ kindly gave me permission to use. This view is towards Sunshine Coast across the Georgia Strait. Thanks M & K.

The Galleries are sandstone, and have always been a popular spot - with the Sneneymexw/Salish people, then the european settlers, and now with tourists and locals. But recently the cave roof collapsed in some spots, so it has been closed. You can still see it from either end, but you can't walk on it.

I will add another post soon to show the scale.

More Rock of Course

As you can see, we do love our rocks. At the edge of the pond we have one beauty that will be a focus point for the dryscaping we will do later this fall and in the spring. We have mulched in the area since this photo was taken.

The Pond

We are one of the areas of Gabriola that doesn't need to worry about water in the summer. We have never run dry, but in the winter we get a LOT of run-off from the hills behind us. We have a drainage ditch on all 4 sides, but we also have a small pond in the front. There was a lot of silt in it, so we decided to have it dug out. Then we decided to re-enforce the walls with rock. The project just kept growing! We still have a lot of work to do on it, but the main rock work is done now. There are spots to plant in the spring to add colour and keep down the erosion even more.