Puppies for Thanksgiving?!?!

Here's Phil with Koa -- a handsome Corgi for our Princess I'Ilani (ee ee lani).

Although they met earlier this year, their love was not consummated until this week....which means Corgi puppies for Thanksgiving.  (Not what you are thinking....we will still have TURKEY!)

Puppies!!! Puppies!!!


Some mornings, before "dad" is up, the three "kids" and I head out to the back steps to enjoy the early morning sun and a cup of tea.  The sun angle at this time of year is so magical as it moves across the yard.

Ao Pokole Poko (Short Cloud) is on the top step, Princess I'Ilani (Midget from Heaven) middle, and Reba-Bo-Beba (mom) on the lower.

The other day, Phil caught an image we think must be a garden sprite.  (Although it has been enhanced some, it did indeed have a 'bubble-like' shape with rainbow colors.)

REMEMBER:  You can 'click' on any photo for a better view.

Ahab and Ahab's Wife

As Ahab eyed me, he said, "What I really really want are wheels."

On a visit to Kona side some months ago, I fell in love with a beautifully carved horn in the shape of a whale at one of our favorite antique stores. He was just so charming!

Taking him out at home I polished him with some wax,  and decided to call him "Ahab>"  I was admittedly stunned when he said, "...but what I really really want are wheels."  My eyebrows lifted, I cocked my head to the side, shrugged and said, "Sure, why the hell not!" I got distracted though (who ME?) for a while, but recently I took him out to play and see...about wheels.  Phil helped me find some wheels at the hardware store that I was able to antique.  Using thick copper wire I created a frame to hold the wheels.  Looking good, but there was just one more thing....a shining spout of copper water!!

Interestingly, a few weeks later I was attracted to a used book at the local bookstore in Pahoa entitled Ahab's Wife.  If you want a good book, I whole-heartedly recommend it, and have provided a LINK to just one of many amazing reviews.  If you're curious read ... A review of Ahab's Wife

Pineapples and Hummingbirds

Tidy pineapple patch -- with one of our three papaya "tree" in front

After a number of years of developing our pineapple patch, we have nearly 50 beautiful plants.  When we bought the property in 2012, there were about half a dozen producers, but over the past years, they have grown top heavy with low-producing shoots.  Last week while weeding the patch (avoiding the spines near the eyes,) I realized it was time to remove the big guys and plant some better producing new plants.  Next year we ought to have quite a harvest. 



The beaded hummingird in the photo was a recent birthday gift from a friend after her recent visit to Guatemala.  When we first moved to the Puna District of the Big Island, we wondered why there were no Hummingbirds in Hawaii. 

Pineapples are unable to self-fertilize. They will only develop seeds if they are cross-pollinated with another pineapple plant. But WAIT!!   Do we want SEEDS in our pineapples?  NO. The primary pollinators of pineapples are…you may have guessed it… hummingbirds. Which is why these delightful tiny winged creatures are on Hawaii's "no fly list."

While pineapples can reproduce sexually through seeds, here we propagate them by planting the crowns.  When we eat our pineapples, we simply cut off and save the “top” – put it in a pot for a few months to get well rooted, then plant it.  After you have picked a pineapple the plant will produce duplicate side shoots that will produce more fruit.  Eventually, however, these giant plants are removed and replaced with fresh starts.  The final photos are of the very last tiny white pineapple of this year’s harvest, but nearly all the rest were full size.