26December2010
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
This lonely gander has lost his gaggle
During the past four years, this gander and his two male gaggle mates have terrorized our road. They staked out the intersection in front of their house and attacked anyone who ventured by: pedestrians, cyclists, even motorists. I gave up walking in their direction unless I was feeling particularly brave. Armed with a long stick to keep them at bay, I learned never to turn my back on them. That was the signal for an all-out attack. With necks and wings extended, honking furiously, they would fly up and try to bite as I ran screaming down the road.
Read the rest of this entry »
20December2010
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
On October 18, 2010, our two adopted seal pups, Casper (black) and Pumba (white) made their dash to freedom in the Salish Sea off Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. Thanks to three months of expert ministrations by the staff at Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre on Salt Spring, and their innovative Adopt-a-Seal-Pup Program, these lucky, orphaned seal pups got a new lease on life.
Casper waits for Pumba to join him
Casper & Pumba swim off to freedom together
Read the rest of this entry »
11February2010
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
On my walk, I rescued a torpid rough-skinned newt from the road, warmed him up in my hands and carried him home to identify. I named him Newton, rigged up a temporary terrarium with moist paper, pureed cat food and a water dish for drinking and dunking. Despite his ever-present smile, he wouldn’t eat, so the next day I released him in my neighbor’s small pond across the street. He took to it immediately. His ear flaps opened as he swam happily away.
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Newton, the rough-skinned newt, has four-toed limbs
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Newton, a rough-skinned newt, hides under his water dish
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Newton, a rough-skinned newt, is chocolate brown and red
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Newton, a rough-skinned newt, in his temporary terrarium
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Newton, a rough-skinned newt, warms up in my hand
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Newton, a rough-skinned newt, on my hand
28November2009
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
I have never, ever wanted to cook for our three cats. My husband, Doug, is the self-appointed chef in our household. But after our jet-black feline, LuciFur, was temporarily paralyzed from the “waist” down Read the rest of this entry »
28November2009
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
It was not yet dawn. Our business line was ringing, so I automatically jumped out of bed and ran to answer the phone. Big mistake. Within seconds, Kali-gee, our geriatric outdoor cat, was howling Read the rest of this entry »
7September2009
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
Summer is coming to an end, the nights are chilly, and even bucks get down in the dumps when contemplating what’s to come: the fall rut and the cold, snowy months of winter when food is hard to find. Bucky barely budged when we went out to cheer him up. Just gave as a doleful look, then decided to sleep under our deck.
21August2009
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
Janet Schwartz of Ucluelet, Vancouver Island, is about to have her pet doe seized by misguided local wildlife authorities. This is a very sad tale indeed. Ms. Schwartz rescued it as a fawn after it was orphaned five years. The black-tailed (mule) deer is entirely domesticated: it sleeps on a bed and eats at the table; it dances to music and gives kisses. Ms. Schwartz considers it the child she never had Read the rest of this entry »
14August2009
Posted by islandtidings under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
This week, the crew of our local ferry found an injured and weakened juvenile osprey waiting patiently outside the entrance to the crew stairwell, as an eagle circled hungrily overhead. Clever move on the part of the osprey. The crew went into action, protecting it with a blanket and calling a wildlife rescue organization, which quickly flew it by seaplane to a wildlife recovery centre in Richmond, across the Strait of Georgia. Hopefully, the osprey will recover and be released in about two weeks.
Source: The Flying Shingle: The Voice of Gabriola since 1972
8November2008
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
It’s November 8. When the electricity returned early this morning (power failures are fairly common on our Gulf island, especially in the rainy fall and winter seasons), I turned on the TV to see my former hometown, Winnipeg, Manitoba, blanketed in 20 cm of wet, heavy snow. The temperature there:  a frosty -6 degrees (Celsius). On Gabriola Island this morning, the tree frogs are chirping outside my window. The temperature here: +14 degrees (Celsius). Read the rest of this entry »
28August2008
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
Last week I stopped traffic. It was a somewhat nostalgic moment. As a high school student in Winnipeg, I couldn’t walk along Grant Avenue  without being accosted every few blocks by young men proffering rides in their automobiles. I would huffily decline and push on, annoyed but secretly flattered. Read the rest of this entry »
26May2008
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
He was a beat-up, feral tomcat, teeth worn to stubs, with testosterone-inflated jowls and scrawny, caved-in sides.
Our first encounter was not promising. A week after our arrival at our new island home, my husband finally let Pussicle and GoldiPuss out to explore our property. Within minutes, we heard the furious howls of a cat fight next door; then our cats disappeared. Four hours later, a bedraggled Pussicle returned, wounded, soon to become infected, necessitating an expensive course of antibiotics. Our beloved GoldiPuss is still missing after almost three years. Read the rest of this entry »
26May2008
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
Itchy scalp? Dandruff? If you’re Canadian, you inevitably turn to Head & Shoulders shampoo, touted in its ads as the cure for both, and for soft, shiny hair. Read the rest of this entry »
20May2008
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
Or how I learned to love nettles
The first summer on our Pacific Northwest island, my husband, while jogging, inadvertently brushed a patch of Urtica dioica, commonly known as stinging nettle. Two years later, the scabs on his calf have still not completely healed. Consequently, I’ve kept a wary distance from these poisonous plants despite their reputed medicinal and culinary properties.
Until now, that is. Read the rest of this entry »
5May2008
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
You’re not alone!
Some people love peacocks; others hate them — and we inevitably hear all about it.
A sample of some recent queries:
One young man wondered how to perk up his listless pet peacock. Turned out he was feeding it only lettuce and vegetable scraps. We don’t pretend to be experts on peacock nutrition, but we advised augmenting its diet with a high-quality, dry cat kibble to give the bird a balanced diet with protein and other nutrients. It worked. Not long after, he wrote to say that his peacock was doing much better on cat kibble. We also told him to get a second peacock to cheer up his bird. Peacocks are gregarious and congregate in well-ordered flocks, and his bird was no doubt lonely. Read the rest of this entry »
5May2008
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
Some tips to keep peacocks away.
During the past few years, we’ve become increasingly fascinated by the peacocks who have taken up residence in our one-acre yard. We’ve seen them mourn for days over a flock member, killed by a careless motorist. We’ve observed them closely through two moulting seasons, as they lay in our yard, forlorn and lethargic, their plumage spread out on the lawn to dry after a rainstorm. They peer into our windows and peck at them to get our attention. They clomp like elephants on our roof, and sometimes fall off their high perches with a “THUMP” during the night. They can fly, but not far. Their flying style is sprinter-like, with bursts of energy that quickly peter out, no doubt due to their size, which is why they fly from level to level, using our house and garage roofs as jumping off points to the surrounding cedars. Yes, they are dirty and noisy, but we’ve begun to appreciate their amusing, if annoying personalities. We are learning to adapt. Read the rest of this entry »
26September2007
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
 My husband, Doug, just returned from the Gabriola Island Recycling Organization (GIRO) clutching his latest prize – a child’s keyboard synthesizer so sophisticated that I could play it myself without feeling foolish. The price: $1!  Read the rest of this entry »
26September2007
Posted by Morri under: Tidings from Gabriola Island.
Decadence. Indolence. Luxury. That’s what our peacocks, trailing long multi-coloured tails, tinged with gold, exude. If you’ve ever wanted to impress your friends, now’s your chance to own a flock of your own. Come, take ours. For free! Read the rest of this entry »
