Gabriola Island Lifestyle Blog

It was a gray day at Orlebar Point on Gabriola Island but there was excitement in the air. Seals were cavorting in the sea and eagles kept watch on shore. Perhaps there was a school of fish that had their attention, but they certainly had ours!

Last night was the first ever Inquiry Fair at  Gabriola Elementary School. The Kindergarten class focused on posters that outlined ways they as 5 and 6 year old kids could help the Earth.  The children did a wonderful job focusing on what they felt would be good for the Earth, some ideas were planting a garden, eating local food, picking up garbage, hanging clothes to dry, and catching the school bus.  It was wonderful to see such bright posters full of beautiful ideas, well done to all the kids!

We recently purchased the best hummingbird feeder ever. It doesn’t leak, it holds plenty of solution, there is a moat to stop the ants and the perching rail is fully utilized by the birds and makes them easy to watch. We have two kinds that visit our feeder, Anna’s Hummingbird and Rufous Hummingbird. Both are beautiful but I find the adult male Rufous to be most spectacular with his burnished copper colored body and bright red throat. We haven’t fully figured out if this is a female Rufous or an Anna’s Hummingbird in the photo but we are enchanted just the same.

A walk in the 707 park yesterday brought me to this very attractive man sitting on a large moss covered stone!

One of our readers sent us this information from Dianne Sanford, coordinator for the Sunshine Coast forage fish sampling project, under guidance of Ramona DeGraaf, MSc., and eelgrass mapper with the Seachange Marine Conservation Society.

Herring eggs are present on seaweed washed up on shore (not just on seaweed growing in the water) during herring spawning season, starting mid February to the end of March on the Sunshine Coast. Due to human impact on herring stocks and the effect of that decline on the food chain, gardeners should refrain from collecting seaweed during this period.

This past fall we were very lucky to have the chance to enroll our eldest daughter into “Sparks” which is the first level of the Girl Guides of Canada program.  They have been meeting weekly since this time and the activities have been wonderful from going to tour the Police Station, Fire Station, have a campfire at Descanso Campground and the much anticipated Sleepover!  The girls all got together at 7 pm to do crafts, sing songs, and watch a short movie in a safe and very enjoyable atmosphere.  For information on the Gabriola chapter of Sparks/Brownies/Girl Guides email Donna Hamilton at donnaandbill@shaw.ca