Seasons

I'm finding the seasons here quite distinguishable. Being from Michigan and actually seeing everything change from cold to rain to warm to snow, I thought I may not like perpetual summer. So far not so. Everything here definitely has it's growing season. Some faster than others but they all have their time. It's easy to see now why almost any time is a good time to visit Hawaii. If you come here in the summer I think you get to taste more of the fresh fruits and vegetables. Right now we have dragonfruit coming in. We eat it like a melon and it looks like a magenta kiwi inside only much bigger. Pineapples have been ripening and have been part of our breakfasts besides drying a few. Lilikoi are dropping like flies. You don't harvest them, you just pick them up when they fall. I made juice out of them and froze most of it. Mangoes are just about done and I have some of those frozen. Smoothies taste great with them. After all that work now they tell me all I need to do is take some chopped up fruit and pour vodka over it and let it set. (For how long? A long time is okay, I guess). Then you just pour a glass of 'happy Hawaii' anytime guests arrive.

Of course the big deal here is that 'picking' season has finally arrived. Today we have about 6 pickers out in our coffee orchard and we will be weighing and counting this evening. We will sure find out how much cherry we are able to process today. Ron had been picking some as it slowly came in and in one month we got about a total of 700 pounds. We will surely get more than that just on one day today. Then we will go into drying and raking mode. They probably will not get it all today so pickers will be back Monday to finish up. Meanwhile we have more cherry still on the trees that needs to redden up so we can hardly calculate how long picking season will last. We have guests coming in Nov. that want to pick so we can only hope we still have beans ripening up till then. I think they will be glad it's only a few.

Five of us took last Sunday and went up to Wiamea to see the "King & I' at the community playhouse. Vog had cleared out and the views were spectacular. We could see Haleakula on Maui from the road there and everything was so green against the Kohala Mts. Later we had dinner at "Cafe Pesto's". My first time there and a definite go back and nice place to stop in Kawaihai when visiting.

No matter the season new places to snorkel keep me busy. Our closest beach area here called Mahini beach is my next stop. Maybe tomorrow. I need things to take my mind off something I discovered. Even though this may be paradise, they still have root canals here. Yes I have to have one and it looks like next Wed. is the day. Never had to have that done before but one thing I know is that when I walk out the door after the procedure I will be looking at the beautiful Pacific and that's, I think, something to look forward to.

So much happens in summertime........................

I don't know that I have the time to write all about it! Ron bought a tomato plant last week from a vendor next to us at the market because tomatoes are hard to grow here----huh!! Well it's in a container and it has doubled in size already. It's like we have a conveyor belt of fruit pouring in. It's a shame to waste it but we are overwhelmed. After spending the spring and summer months in Michigan praying and tenderly coaxing our greenery to grow and ripen before frost, it's amazing to watch it grow here. In fact, try to stop it! Ron calls me the wicked witch of Hawaii as I tend to grab, pull, cut and stomp on foliage and plants I don't want and they 'just come back'. One good thing, all this 'extra'(so they say)rain is producing a bumper crop of coffee. Ron is spastic over all the coffee trees that are falling over, heavy with cherry.
I did get him to take a day off and go to the 'Two Step' snorkel/swimming area with me. He even got out on a body board and floated awhile while I did my jogging exercises in the bay. Then Tues I went to the Honounou NP area with some neighbors. A lava area that Ron & I were able to walk across last winter was filled with water and a nice pool and waterfall area was created because of the extra high tide occurring. We were having a blast when a huge surge came in and swept quite a ways inland and I was enjoying the ride until I realized that I was being carried out into the open sea. I immediately tried to swim back and the force was too great. A young boy was right next to me and we grabbed on to each other until the surge let up. It was actually shallow enough to stand when we grabbed onto some rocks to steady us. Meanwhile my friend had been pulled out much farther and her husband was trying to pull her in. I was luckier than Marci & Chuck who were scraped up a bit from being bounced into the rocks by the huge incoming tide.
Later that evening Marci and I and 4 other friends met for dinner and a movie. Mama Mia is showing and I remembered how much I liked the live version, so we made it a girls night out. Let me tell you we thought the movie was as funny and raucous as the live show. We shared many belly laughs and James Bond "007" singing in Elvis style bell bottoms was a hoot!!
Ron took a bike ride yesterday and he makes a loop which takes him down to the bay and back up to the highway. He saw some friends heading down to the bay to swim and watched as dozens of dolphins were swimming and spinning around. Today he ran with Mark, his friend from Michigan, who has been here for a few weeks. They came for dinner one night and told us they are thinking about moving here. In fact Wendy has taken a teaching job here to try it out. She'll be teaching at Kealakehe Middle School. See, it's possible, y'all can just move here too!!!

Moving along

My July is almost gone and this is only my 3rd post. Well summer can be a busy time here. I am slowly learning what season brings which fruits. Papayas are pretty much year around but they have even slowed down. Mangoes are very prevalent right now. And we love them. They are great cut up, frozen, and then used in smoothies. I think the season only lasts a couple of months. Next batch I get, I will be dehydrating. Bananas seem to come whenever. We have had mucho pineapples right now. I've been told they take 18 mos. to 2 years to go from planting to harvesting. So I have saved some starts and will be planting them today. Come in early summer 2010 and you will have the best pineapple you have ever tasted. Macadamia nuts have started to fall. That is how they are harvested. Like most nuts you wait until they fall and then pick them up. But then they have to be husked and the shell is almost impossible to crack. We do have a special cracker, so we get to eat them too. I also dehydrate them as they last longer then. Avocados are slowly ripening. The variety that Ron likes best doesn't come in until about Oct.-Feb. but we should have some that they call butter avocados by Sept. I like them too. We can't keep the Hawaiian pumpkin vines back. They also seem to produce year round. We love them and they sell well at the market. Lilikoi (passions fruit) are proliferate now. I love the fragrance of the juice. All I need to do is ask around and find a good recipe to save them or freeze them. Not sure how long the vines produce but you have not seen anything so beautiful as the flower of the vine. We sorta have dragon fruit. Our fruit just doesn't seem to get very big. It tastes kinda like kiwi but it's red inside. We heard they are very hard to grow and they are also very hard to get pollinated. A reason ours are so small, I think. It's probably all true because I've seen one dragonfruit sell for $5 and it's only as big as a large apple. Oh, and yes we do have coffee!!!!.....................COFFEE is moving along too. The trees are loaded with cherry. In fact many are toppling over, they are so heavy. Most of the coffee cherry is still green though. Ron has picked some in the last couple of weeks, but not the large crop we need. Our coffee flowered at least 6 times this year and the cherry ripens about 7 months after each flowering. The really big blossom was in Feb. so the big crop will come in late Aug. to Sept. Yes, we have dried and roasted what Ron has picked but it's still not enough to open the online store. Just a few bags to have around here and to take to the market. He ended up picking well over 100 pounds but after processing I think I ended up with about 36 pounds of roasted coffee. So, yes it takes a lot of fruit to make one pound of coffee, and a lot of waiting and work to take it thru all the processes to get it to our coffee cup. But, of course, I wouldn't drink any other kind of coffee and the hands on picking and care is what makes Kona coffee one of the best coffees in the world. ............................We keep waiting for the big fruit crop to ripen, some of the cherry is turning yellow and will follow with red. We also had a large blossom later in Feb. or March so we will get two big picks and four or so small picks. We have had rain at some time in the day, every day in July so far. This is the most rain I've seen since we've been here. But I do believe we are supposed to get lot's of rain in July and Aug. When we returned from TN & MI is was still not as hot as I thought summer would be here. Well add humidity to the equation and I think I would say that summer starts in mid July in Hawaii. It's been a bit sticky here with all the rain and we started using the fans in most the the rooms. So I would say that summertime here is fantime. ............Ron is out riding his bike now and the sun is shining bright. I do my ocean jogging now at TwoStep bay and got Ron to go with me last week. He took a body board and floated around while I exercised. Mark Daniel, a running buddy of his from Flint is here visiting and we took him outrigger paddling with us last Thurs. He said he really enjoyed it but didn't feel he got the 'sinc' of it yet but could see how great an upper body workout it can be. He is off doing the Volcano run this weekend but will be back to do a few intown runs with Ron next week...............And last Wed. they had a Kamiaina (you get local prices)sail on the Red Sail with a sunset cruise including drinks and pupus (snacks) so we took off with Al & Linda for that. It was great to be out on the ocean. We saw the sun, but not actually setting. It came down and set into either the clouds or the vog, not the ocean horizon but it was still beautiful, big bright and red!! Well time for me to take off and get my clippers out. The plants near the driveway need cutting back and I think I hear the dog barking, meaning Ron's back. No, we do not have a dog. We are dogsitting a friends MinPin for two months while they travel back on the mainland. His name is Rascal, he's only about 8 mos. old and he and the cat are finally making nice. He's lots of fun and cute but reminds us that we are not yet ready to take on the whole responsibility. Baby/DogSittng is the best idea. A little fun and then he goes home..........

We did it!!

Well two different things.....but Ron and I are both proud and excited about them both! Ever heard of the little devils 'coqui frogs'? They are about as big as your thumb nail and chirp a (co like 'go'--key)sound in the evening especially after a rain. If you have ever been in Hilo you have probably heard them and they are an unwanted pest. One sounds cute but I can't imagine thousands chirping at bedtime. A few have found their way over to this side so Ron & a buddy went coqui hunting. You need to go after dark to hear them, decide which tree he is in and spray a mixture of citric acid and water on the tree and ground. Well Ron has been successful on all his hunts and our neighbors, Tom & Rosemary, who live in a round house are forever grateful. Unlike snipe hunting, you can believe Ron if he wants to take you on a coqui hunt.

This morning I went by myself down to Two-Step in Honaunua Bay and did my ocean jogging. Except for not seeing Jane, Marie, Nanette, Claire, Krysta, Cindy & Connie and missing out on all the towny gossip, I had a blast! Not being a swimmer, let me tell you, it was a bit daunting to decide to go alone. But, of course, alone I wasn't. If you can imagine, here I was, jogging around talking to all the snorkelers. One came up and said "spectacular"!! I think I have found a new jogging route, it's 5 times closer to my house. And I think next time I will take my snorkel mask. Everytime I go down there I forget how I believe it to be the best snorkel area I have ever seen. My experience is pretty much limited to Kauai, Hanauma Bay in Honolulu, Mazatlan, Mex.,Paradise Is, Nassau and St. John Is, in the Virgin Isles. But the water here is the clearest and the deepest with tons of fish and not all small. Marci can expect a call to join me next time so maybe we can start our own group........

Memories

Aloha, aloha, aloha! Wow we are back here in Hawaii and pretty much getting back into our routines. Tonight there is a 'coffee talk' at the UH Extention building. Ron & I are going and meeting up with some friends to do dinner after. There is always much good info and workshops for us coffee farmers and quite a helpful community. I am back to my Tue morn yoga classes, will paddle tomorrow and maybe even try a new spot to do my ocean jogging in this week. With gas prices so high,$4.50/gal here, I don't like to drive all the way to the Kailua pier unless I have other errands or a Costo trip to add. So this a.m. I just did a nice walk down Painted Church Rd. and Ron did a bike ride with a neighbor, Michelle. I'm anxious to see how my new spot will work. It's down at 2-Step in the bay and lots of locals and tourists go there to swim and to snorkel. I will have company eventhough I may look wierd doing my water jogging there. There are usually dolphins there so maybe I can have them accompany me. And it's only 2 miles from home. We had loads of trimming to do. Bushes, landscaping and all plus weeding in the coffee fields. Ron even picked a little coffee and some is already processed. We should have new crop coffee ready to send out in about a month or so. Yeah!
But first back to June, which is when we were able to catch a few memories. There are so many things we love about living here in Hawaii but it sure wouldn't be for everyone. Seeing so many of our friends and relatives brought memories back of why we liked MI & TN so well. Flat, flat, flat running in MI sure does help one along. And of course the cool, cool mornings just seem to push you along. Getting out with old running buddies and using the Clinton River Trail near my daughters reminded us how good running can be in MI in June. We even took our grandchildren on the west end of the CRT which is then called the West Bloomfield Trail and they loved it. In fact Casey did quite a bit of running with us while we were there. She seems to like to run as a cross training for her soccer. Then in TN, eventhough it was hot, hot, hot we realized how many wonderful friends we had made in such a short time. Grandkids there are both teenagers but we still can have great conversations with them. All on all it was great fun to see everyone and evethough we are back at work here on the farm we are already talking about our next trip to the mainland.

Synopsis of the last few weeks in May...........

as I can guarantee I won't be blogging in June. Exactly a week from today we take off to TN for the first leg of our trip to visit with family & friends. Two weeks ago we got the opportunity to take a trip to Sedona, AZ. We had never been there and it sounded like a nice r&r for us after the winters care of those coffee trees. You can't deny the beauty of Sedona, especially as you drive in and view those huge red rocks. Only 2 hours away, the Grand Canyon is also quite an experience. I think besides the size I was most struck by the colors of the Grand Canyon. No matter what venue I took to view, it seemed like a painting in front of me and i had to blink to remind myself I was looking at natures painting. The weather was good although a bit hot in the sun. Sometimes you couldn't help being in full sun if you were hiking and that's where I got sun-blistered lips. It took getting back to Hawaii here to heal them up and put some moisture back into my body. As I quenched myself with the ocean water I also looked down and again saw how clear our water is here. All the colors of the sea coral are visible while swimming, snorkeling and paddling. So I guess, to me, it's what color do I prefer. I'll take the greens and blues anytime!!!!

I read an article about the volcano the other day trying to crystal-ball this latest eruption. And that is all scientists can do. It's all unpredictable. The article said that Kilauea erupted/smoked almost continuously from 1832-1924. From 1924 to about the 60's not much happened and then some lasting from 4 months to 18 months until now. Right now this is the longest lasting one in almost a century. What it seems to have done is make this May a bit cooler and rainy and also very voggy. Forget the beautiful bright views. Views are still there just not as dramatic because, to me, they look blurry. Ag consultants from UH are finding that some fruits are delaying to ripen. Fruits like figs and mangos need more sunlight to ripen. Luckily coffee doesn't seem to be bothered by Madame Pele'. That is, I'm sure, why coffee grows so well in Kona. It really likes the weather here. After all, they planted coffee here in about 1825 and it grew and flourished no matter what Kilauea was doing.

2 more birthdays.............

and they happened on the same say last week. One was for 8 yr. old Chloe our 5th grandchild who lives with her mom, dad, sisters and brother in Michigan. Chloe is one hardy little girl. She seems to be able to go her own balanced way and takes it all in stride. A hard thing to do with two older sisters but she has learned to do her own thing and enjoy herself doing it. While she was in my care after her brother was born she took quite a fall, hitting her head on a stair edge and causing lots of blood to gush from her forhead. She was far calmer than me on the way to the hospital and was a perfect patient. She also loves soccer but favors art in school. She says whe has artwork to show me when we see them next month. Chloe was born on her aunt Sheila's birthdate. Sheila is my eldest(she is going to get me on that) daughter. But she got lots of talent being the oldest. She is musical, mathmetical and very creative. She is very giving and teaches many of her talents, like victorian stitch quilting. But most of all she likes to beat Ron, and other friends at scrabble and any other word game you can think of.

Time to blog

Last week while paddling we thought we saw a pod of dolphins, but then realized they weren't swimming like dolphins. After stopping and taking a closer look it was a whole school of manta rays. They were probably feeding on some plankton and when they swim on top of the water one wing seems to stick out and looks like a dolphins but then they flicked their tail the mystery was over. May 3rd was our first anniversay here and we celebrated up to the Hilton with friends for dinner and went to a Sugarland concert. It was outside and it only rains about 10 inches a year up in Wiakoloa where the Hilton is located. Well just before the concert started I think they got the whole spring rain. We had a small water resistant covering with us and we didn't get soaked, but close. How wonderful to be in weather where it really doean't matter. The show went on, we were in barefeet and our clothers dried before it was over. And Jennifer Nettles and the rest of Sugarland put on a great show. Great songs and very entertaining!
I also don't think it is as warm as it was when we arrived last year. I go in the ocean to water jog weekly and the water seemed to be the coldest in April. We need some warm spring weather to warm that ocean up. And I also believe the rainy season is finally upon us. As it should be. Winter is dry and now the rains are coming and is that coffee ever growing. The green beans are getting larger and larger and we think that we will be picking very, very soon. We see a few scattered red beans even now. So I'll bet Ron tries a picking before we leave for TN & MI in June.
Meanwhile today we are heading off for a little R&R. Taking a week in Sedona, AZ. Finally convinced Ron that those beans could ripen on their own.

Sydney......................second born grandchild

I sure didn't forget you! I just get overwhelmed when I get ready to take a trip. I also enjoyed talking to you on your birthday. Sydney is such a character. Oh, a fun & whitty character. She always has something up her sleeve. She seems to have great talent for understanding. Sometimes even more than you would think her years permit. She is always asking questions becuase she says she wants to learn things the right way. She will keep with the questions until she thinks she has it right. (I didn't tell her yet that Mimi & Papa don't really have all the answers!!) Her passion is in creating videos and movies. She is an aid to the girl scout leader and teaches the troup the art of making good video. Not long and we will be visiting with you and and I am looking forward to being in one of her videos.

Kilauea

Everyday we look out to the ocean to see how much vog we have. (Vog is very different from SO2). Yesterday we had some breezes and it cleared out to a beautiful day. Today I can see Keei point from my kitchen window but I can't tell the difference from where the horizon meets the ocean as I look south. I still think it's exciting that for the first time in 84 years the volcano is acting out. Early Wed. morning the crater exploded again. I had been glowing. They say it's not lava that you see but incandescent particles seen best just before dark. That small explosion Wed. sent pink ash out over a small area. Meanwhile the park is back to opening everyday. There is really no danger from magma or lava or the gaseous plume. The only problem would be with the SO2 and that seems be only over on the east side. Yet Wed. they did record some very high levels of the gas over high mountain areas of Ocean View but they came back down within hours.

Link to the live webcam situated to show the Halemaumau crater
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cam3/

Casey

Casey had a birthday last week, I talked to her and she passed on to me her grades. All in the 90's and some over 95. We certainly are proud of her. Not only that but she is a great little gymnist, but most of all she loves soccer and all the training the comes with it. Right now she appears to be the only grandchild that likes to run. She likes running because it keeps her in shape for soccer and she tells me she is looking forward to get back out on the track in Michigan after not being able to do too much running this winter. Even with all that vigor my take on Casey is that she is sweet and shy, determined and cute. Oh and did I say a brave little risk taker for only 10, and then............ As a grandmom I guess I could go on and on couldn't I??

Volcanoes and coffee

Fortunately Volcano NP only closed for 2 days and now they are raving about the reddish orange glow over Halemaumau crater seen best at dusk. The glow is not lava but a color caused by gasses and other chemicals beneath the surface coming out thru the rupture. What an amazing happening!! There is a picture somewhere and I will look for it and post it later if I can.

I ran across a cute video on youtube and posted it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE9p9weUWJ0&feature=related (copy & paste)
Now at the end he says go to KonaMountains website. Oh don't do that just go to www.konalisacoffee.com for a taste of our coffee processing.

I am trying to keep up with our slowly deminishing inventory and have put aside green for customers who have asked me to. Still not sure when I will run out but I will run out. But the greatest news is we had some good weather and a great blossom and the trees are loaded with beans. Ron is out irrigating today as he's worried that we aren't getting enough rain to help those beans grow. Picking season will tell the story. That is in August and we are still signing on pickers.........just in case you were wondering!!!

Just took off a batch of mac nuts from our dehydrator so I'll package them and bring them with me to the mainland in June. Today I will dehydrate some extra bananas and I have a pineapple that we picked last week that looks like it is ripening beautifully. Doubt we can eat the whole thing so I guess I will dehydrate some of it to. We can bring dehydrated/roasted items back to the mainland so depending on how long it keeps and how much more we get in I hope to bring some with me in June.

Link to area of Hawaii where the volcano is venting

http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/09/news/art2c_large.jpg

Lavaman & NP closure

Lavaman is the name of our Olympic distance triathalon here in the island. Held last Sunday so Ron & I spent the day up there volunteering. Arriving at 5:30am to help with body marking/numbering. The body marking was staged at what we call "A" beach near the Hilton in Wiakoloa. All transitions are done there. The swim starts at 7:30 in the bay (1.5k), they pick up there bikes there in the parking lot area for a (40k)ride, a loop down to the Four Seasons and back leaving their bikes to do the (6.2) mile run. We left body marking to take ice to the bike turnaround point and stayed and gave out bottles of water before returning with tubs and trash. The last few runners were still taking off but the party had begun with music and dancing on the beach and one of the biggest food spreads I have ever seen and the food kept on coming all catered by the Hilton. I think the winning time was 1:54 something and Bree Wee, a local, was fourth in and first woman in 2:04 I believe. Fun day and then Monday was had company for dinner, then I did yoga on Tues morning and I was so exausted by Tues afternoon that I slept the rest of most of the afternoon. It was that getting up at 4am on Sunday that upset my inner clock, I'm sure!!! Today was back to normal as I managed to get in my early morning hour ocean water jog.

As I drove home from town I listened to our daily Civil Defense update on Kiluea. As a precautionary measure they closed the Volcanoes NP, the Kiluea Lodge and Military Camp and the Volcano Charter School. Lava is not the problem, of course, but the fumes are. It is thick as pea soup over there as the gas plumes flow out from both Halemaumau and Puo'o crater vents. Winds coming from the southeast somehow keep the smoky stuff over there and some heads up towards Hilo and the Hamakua coast. Usually 'the Trades'/tradewinds blow it south and Kona winds send stuff called vog up our way. Vog is a mixture of volcanic gas, dust and moisture in the air. By the time is does get to us it just makes our area hazy in some areas. It has been very voggy this week after a few clear days last week. Today we are supposed to get some rain. Rain seems to clear it out and the coffee trees can use a drink too! No one seems to be able to predict why all this volcanic action, fumes and molten spatter is acting up. Could be that the magma is rising and there will be a breakout of lava in the Halemaumau crater which has not happened since 1924. The high levels of sulphur dioxide levels are almost unheard of so I believe that it's just trying to clean itself out, spurt some lava and then go rest for another 60 years.

Shelby

A couple of days ago our oldest granddaughter had her 15th birthday. As I was talking to her she was in a car blindfolded and her friends were taking her on a surprise venture. She asked me if I knew where she was going but I didn't. I believe that is the first thing she has ever asked me for in her life. Shelby seems to always be happy with what she has and never asks for much. She also is a lovely ballerina and performs in many local shows. She also is a talented writer. She has been writing books since the age of 10. Ron & I love to read her books as they are quite interesting & creative novels. Shelby also is a great animal lover so we can't wait for her to get here and see Toonces our $300 cat. Happy birthday, Shel, and we are so looking forward to seeing you, your sis & mom and dad in a couple of months. She did tell me on the phone that she was now old enough to drive and that she did know how so I may be in for a big suprise this June.

June flights are booked

And we will be visiting the mainland from June 2-24. There are a few things I don't seem to be able to find here in the island and will want to pick up on my trips back. In case anyone is shopping and see those wine pourers I like would you pick them up for me? They are the flat silver ones that you roll and put just inside the bottle top to stop any dripping.
Day before yesterday I went to my first yoga classs since I have been on the island. I believe I found one of the best instructors ever. There are quite a few yoga studios here, kinda expect that in Hawaii. But until paddling and ocean jogging slowed down a bit I never took the time to check them out until I saw this one 7 minutes walking time from my house. Hooda is the kind of instructor I like. She shows the moves and then walks around the room helping with the moves and showing alternives and corrections. Then at the end, during relaxation, she sang. Sounded like a yoga chant and at first I wondered where the music came from as there was no background music during the class. I got a great class in a gorgeous, quiet setting and met some new friends.
I did my computations on how much coffee we have left. We weighed the parchment and reduced that by about 1/3 as that is how much weight is lost during milling and roasting. We figure we have about 300 pounds to last us until when next crop is ready in Sept.-Oct. I am saving some back for our regular customers and of course we will be gone in June and only time will tell if supply will meet demand. We hope so. Meanwhile tourists keep pouring in to see the volcano erupting. I actually think they are downplaying the story. It's both an awesone and frightening event and I believe they are leaving the scary stuff out. I don't mean that the lava will get to anyone as it moves so slowly that you have plenty of time to get out of its way. But it's the smoke and dust. Our days over here have not been the clearest and the NP data shows that the sulfur dioxide fumes are at the highest ever calculated. Right now the VOG blows southeast of the eruption spot and the only towns it is bothering is Volcano and Pohala. I think most of us would just rather fire-goddess Pele would make up her mind what she wants to do and get on with it instead of spewing and gushing with the smoke.

Wouldn't you just know....................

So, today, a snippet of recent scoop. Madame Pele exploded two nights ago. The summit of Kilauea spewed rocks from a gaseous explosion which was at first thought to be an earthquake. (We did not feel it here.) It was the first volcanic discharge since 1924 in the crater and the the first eruption in Kilauea caldera since 1982. Scientists are still uncertain as to what's next!! Meanwhile last week we did travel to the Puna area to view the new lava flow. I had not known that some 30 years ago there were small farms growing fruits, mainly papaya's, right where we walked. Where we walked was total lava. Very different than the lava near us. It was still shiny, I suppose because it is a fairly new cover. Yet, there were still small homes built there in land reclaimed. I believe the day we went that the whole population of the island including locals and tourists where there too so we couldn't get a parking spot close. As we hiked in and it got dark we could see the incandescent orange glow of the lava. We didn't go in all the way as we learned that the flow had taken a new course, as it seems to be doing daily, and went underground again before reaching the ocean. Earlier in the day we hiked to the black sand beach and saw a few whales playing. Then we stayed the night at the Ala Kai bed & breakfast (www.alakaibb.com) , which was a real treat right on the ocean. Breakfast was served with a bright morning sunrise and tons of fruit from the island. And speaking of fruits of the island. Never do I cease learning of a new one almost weekly. We brought a 'sapote' home with us from the market Sat. and tried it today. How about eating a pear sweetened with brown sugar. Maybe a bit more custardy, but that is the flavor. Then there are rambutan, lychee, carambola, lilikoi, guava. All new to me and I like them all. Tomorrow our apple bananas are ripe and I'll dehydrate some more. The last batch went to Nic & family with our own mac nuts (dehydrated also). Next Jackie gets a batch and I owe Sheila & family some bananas as they got macnuts and coffee last week. We have about 10 pineapples ripening at different stages and I am anxious to feast on one. I am told they are called white pineapples and are much sweeter than the gold. Avocado season is just about over. Ron is sad as he has really grown to like them. But now we see tons of mangoes hanging from the trees.......not the same trees.....mango trees. I understand that they should be ripe by May or so. We are coming back to the mainland (Mich. & Tenn.) in June so I hope we don't miss most of them. Wish we could bring them back but Ag rules won't let you carry them on and if I packed them I think we'd have mango juice before we got them to you. But you can always come and sample them here!! Just a while ago I headed down to Paleaku Gardens (about a 6-8 min walk from here). I was headed to a yoga class which unfortunately for me was cancelled. I'll have to go next week, but the caretaker was kind enough to show me a bit around the complex. Lucky for me as it is both beautiful and spiritual. You cannot tell from the road how lovely it is as it opens to a commons area where they have retreats and weddings. They charge for tours (I think $5) and I recommend it and will be taking guests down there if they'd like as they have a unique garden there called the galaxy gardens. You can see a sample of what's there at www.galaxygarden.net . There also are small temples ,obelisks, or statues in areas representing every religion on the world right down to native Indian, etc. Then they also have star gazing nights, as the garden is also an astronomy center. Neighbors did the gazing one night and said it is spectacular. Ron & I plan on viewing at the next one.

Always controversy

We thought we had left politics behind when we retired but no matter where you go it finds you. We haven't been here long enough to make hard decisions on many of the local issues here but are involved in one only because we are coffee farmers. Our video from the KCFC.org we belong to made it to YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8-lKZb64l4. There is a bill in our local House looking to pass a law that to be labeled Kona coffee you must have at least 75% Kona beans in the package. Currently it is legal to package a 10% blend. Truthfully it seems to me not to matter as the package is labeled either 10% of 100% and the price also reflects the difference. And the taste definitely reflects the difference. So this is one thing I hope not to get too involved with. But most of the members are quite determined to continue to support the new bill to the end.

Spectacular

Yesterday the lava reached the ocean. This hasn't happened since last June when a small earthquake near the current flow at the time changed the course. The old Pu'o vent quit smoking for a few months. Later as scientists expected the lava found a new route. It headed very slowly towards an old abandonded subdivision in Puna. Two diehard men still lived there and were interviewed occasionally on the news until last week lava closed off the road they rode their cycles in to their homes. So they hiked in the back way as the lava continued to cross the road. Meanwhile the NP system feverishly was rebuilding an old road that was used approx eight years ago for tourist viewing of the old flow. We had some visitors here that told us they were there last week and could easily see the new flow. Now the flow has made it's way to the ocean so Ron & I are off Sunday for a visit to the volcano, new lava flow and hike to the ocean to see the spectacular plunge into the ocean. They are reopening the road Saturday and of course the best time to see the glow is after dark. So Sunday evening that is where we will be hiking with our flashlight to view what happens no where else in the world.

Haley

Last week I had the idea to not only say happy birthday to my family here but to write a bit about each of them on their birthday. I'm already a bit late for the first one of the year, Haley. But I figure I'm going to try to keep up with this all year and to paraphrase an email just received from Jackie, you're last "hahahaha". Haley turned 12 a few days ago and is a very talented young lady. She sings, plays french horn, acts, and was student council president last year. Most recently she had a part in Suessical the Musical at school. She has tried out for both acting and singing parts in the local community also. Plus she emailed me last marking period that she had received all A's. She really loves swimming so I am looking forward to having her here to go snorkeling with. I must mention soccer as we went to not only her games but all the kids games when we were back in MI and look forward to seeing some more this spring/summer. Just a few nice things to be said about one of my granddaughters, since I am a bit far away but it wouldn't be the same if I wasn't able to keep up with all of them on their day to day affairs. I know she had a fun birthday because she told me so!! Her 'great' mom also tells me little funnies that they say and bring up. Haley told her mom that she wanted to visit a coffee shop. Nic asked her why because she didn't think she ever had coffee. Haley said 'well it must be good because I love the smell of fresh roasted coffee'. Wait till she smells Kona on a roasting day!!