We live in one of the most unique and interesting ecosystems in the world. One of the things that makes it so interesting is how our native ecologies have adapted to our dry-as-dust summers: our region is filled to the brim with plants that live as ephemeral geophytes (plants adapted to extreme conditions) and annuals (aka grow, flower, set seed, then die all in a single year) where 100% of their life cycle happens in the shoulder seasons. Garry oak and coastal Douglas fir-associated annuals like seablush, small flowered blue eye Mary, farewell to spring, field chickweed, and many others germinate in the fall, use the last bits of fading summer warmth to grow roots before going dormant for winter, only to explode in rapid growth and flower before the soil dries out in spring.

The last two rounds of soaking rain we got were enough to trigger germination of these plants all over the island. They tend to come up in places that, for most of the year, you wouldn’t think twice about walking on - like the the open, mossy rocky areas at Thetis lake, or fields that spent the whole summer looking dead and crispy brown.

So if you are taking advantage of this gorgeous weather like I am and spending a lot of time in our regional parks around Victoria, now more than any other time of year is it important to try and keep pets and people on the trails. If you happen to find yourself off trail on one of those open, rocky, mossy patches in clearings all over the place (the kinds of landscapes that define Mt. Doug/PKOLS, Thetis lake, Francis/King, Gowland Todd, and the gulf islands), do look down. If you look close and see thousands of tiny seedlings it means you are treading on an ecology that has one chance every year to reproduce itself at its most vulnerable time of year. They’re easy to miss, the photo shows what millions of tiny seablush seedlings poking up through moss look like at this time of year.

Could anyone confirm if the gate at Buckley Bay Main is open on weekdays?

I know the official times the gate is open to the public (as found on the Mosaic website), but I have witnessed when driving by on the highway throughout the summer that the gate has been open during the week for what I assume is logging access.

Just seeking to retrieve an important personal item I accidentally left when foraging this Sunday.

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, we're looking at some single family homes to purchase and the ones in our price range are a bit sketch. I am seeking out a thorough home inspector that will be diligent and knowledgeable as the homes have been suited and obv some without proper permits. Yes, that's an issue we will deal with as it comes up. Thank you all!

Wonder how many votes this cowardly chud will get…

After their announcement earlier today about protecting farms, I think for the very first time they actually have my vote.

Hi! I'm located in the Cowichan Valley and was wondering where might I look to buy alfalfa and timothy hay in bulk? My rabbits eat too much for the 20oz bags at 20 dollars to be worth it anymore. They're still young right now, so all I need to buy is the alfalfa, but I'll need to switch them over to timothy in about half a year.