Harvest!!

Our own bananas

Ritual of mahalo to Lono - with traditional white flag

We are harvesting -- which is appropriate! It is the season of Lono called Makahiki. Makahiki is a time of peace and recreation. It’s a time to celebrate the hard work of farming and enjoy the fruits of one’s labor.

Lono is the Hawaiian god of agriculture and rain. He appears in hoʻoilo (the wet season) as rain clouds and winter storms. Some poʻe kahiko (Hawaiians of old) describe Lono as the “akua poʻo huna i ke ao lewa,” or the god whose head is hidden in the dark clouds. The water he brings helps keep the land fertile.

Kale

All LIMES -- some are yellow

Recently we finished up our okra, cucumbers, tomatoes and squash, but have seedlings like broccoli ready to rotate in again. Pictured below are just some of the things we are harvesting now. We juice and freeze all the citrus and passion fruit and use it throughout the year. We do have our own lemon grass, thyme, rosemary, turmeric and ginger as well.

Passion Fruit/Liliko'i

Mexican spinach in front **

** You can't possibly see all the food in this corner of our garden. In the front we have Mexican Spinach that we grow because the traditional kind is too delicate for our heavy rain and intense sun. It can be used in juices (great greens) or salad or cooked. 

"Vine Potato" and Yams

Behind the spinach the raised bed has peppers and broccoli, The tall green plant on the left is one of our papayas. You can't see the pineapple patch with about 50 producers. Nearby is a tangerine tree, a tropical kind of cherry, a few still green tomatoes and a rambutan fruit which, like the cherry will take a few years to produce.

In our Hawaiian language class we have learned a beautiful chant (oli) of gratitude that you can hear by clicking on this link. Oli Mahalo

Hawaiian Alarm Clock

Early mornings we are regularly greeted by the song of the Chinese Melodious Laughing Thrush -- and with a song like this, who would need an alarm clock?   CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE THRUSH SONG

 
The story of their presence here apparently goes back to the untimely April Fools day tsunami of 1946, caused by a big earthquake in Alaska.  Records indicate that 159 people were killed, and much of the bay front of Hilo was demolished. 

That area was home to many immigrant Chinese who enjoyed their caged songbirds.  When the tsunami hit, and homes were destroyed, many caged thrush flew away and have since populated the forest area where we now live.  These robin-sized birds, with white eye liner are very illusive and make their home in the dense under-story of the trees. 

Morning ritual finds Mr. Thrush usually sitting on one side of the house loudly serenading  Mrs. Thrush in trills of elaborate song.  She echos back in complex replies. Their duets last for about a hour -- enough time to enjoy morning coffee, giving us time to quietly appreciate this beautiful paradise.

Our September 1st blog entry showed our weekly harvest of passion fruit "Lilikoi" in Hawaii.  And although I am juicing and freezing it into cubes, there is just too much. Despite the fact that recipes are usually anathema to me, I just made my first double batch of LILIKOI curd,  creamy and tart.  Below is the recipe I thought sounded easiest for me; I also substituted Phil's artificial sweetener for sugar and used less than the recipe called for.  (photo of our mini-scones, lilikoi, orchid and fresh curd)  Lilikoi Curd Recipe


PS for Sunday 9/20 -- In the past two days, we have had over SIX inches of rain...guess our really hot weather spell has ended....WHEW!