February 08, 2005

Cloud Blind

Hilo Town bathed in pure white light

In the desert, they wear veiling and white clothing to reflect the rays of the sun and to protect the eyes from the burning glare of the sand. No one goes out at mid day...

A world away, the people of the artic wear a form of gogles with tiny horzontal slits, as the rays of the sun bounce off the boundries of their white world and can snow blind you in an instant.

Here in Hawaii I have encountered the phenomina of "Cloud Blindness" It is, of couse, not so severe as can be experienced by pilots as they fly through the clouds, but we experience it as a pure white glare that softens colors and filters horizons...today was such a day that you could see this, at least in Puna.

We had, for the most part, a "stay at home day" but had an appointment with our vet Dr. Grune very early this morning, for Mak and Nani to get their first rabies shot and got microchipped. Here, there is no threat of rabies, so often pets that are not outdoors don't need a rabies shot, but with our departure to the mainland we will need to keep them up to date. The micro chipping is a precaution in case we lose them and we have needed to do this for a long time. I just dreaded it as it is a long square needle and must hurt like the devil. Nani was a little stoic but Mak groweled and tried to bite the doctor, who took it all in stride and said that this is a normal reaction. Both kitties slept all day and Nani even allowed a visitor to pet her a new thing as she is very shy.