February 22, 2005
Flower Time
The Ohia Lehua our official flower here on the Big Island... You know that spring has arrived when these are starting to pop open!
The Ohia are blooming. This endemic tree is the first large plant to spring up on a cooling lava flow that is native to Hawaii. Breadfruit and coconut palms do well also, but the Ohia (o-hee-ah) is a brave sight often just a tiny thing for many years... I veiw them as the living example for the maxim " Bloom where you are planted..."
There are four seasons here in Hawaii but its subtle and you have to know what to look for . The Hawaiians called it Wet Time,summer Dry Time,winter, Flower Time spring and Fruit Time fall. As you might imagine, there is a bit of all of this all year around and the seasons don't coincide with the mainland ones completely but there is this change that just says... Spring...
For the secret is not the rain or anything ...hopefully for us, it rains some nearly everyday, but its the gradual growing warmth of the nights. The night time temperature falls to the lower 60's to 50's in places in deepest winter. Last night we had supper at the Kilauea Military Camp in Volcanoes National park. With the 4500 elevation it was a chilly 46 when we walked out and drizzling. In my shorts and thin t shirt, I felt like I was in an ice storm... I dashed for the car and drove home with the heater on. Here in Puna, if you avarage the evening temperature its around 70 or so all year long. so things grow like crazy.
As I said we went out the the KMC last night. this is a joint service recreational center, and campground and being a holiday weekend it was packed. Often called the best kept cullinary secret on the Big Island you can get a very good all you can eat meal there for 9-12 bucks. Sunday its steaks, as well as a succulent fried chicken and teriyaki style chicken as well as the sides , rice mashed and fried potatoes and a delicious home made macaroni and cheese which they run out of quick. We ate hearty, and felt better for it.
Prior to that we drove down Chain of Craters road the 45 minutes or so to the parking area which is about 1 1/2 mile from the lava flow, which you must hike to to see...usually. In the twilight gloom the multiple rivers of lava flowing from the vent could be seen from the road looking like a bumper to bumper traffic jam on a hilly freeway, or as I mentioned to Woody, the many brushfires that I have seen as a native of So. California, racing up hillsides. It was beautiful and a bite scary to behold and I was glad to not have a home in harms way of it... This was a rare event last night and I was glad to see it before we left. The photo of the lava on Sunday is the end of the journey for the rivers of lava as they flow to the sea creating new land...
The rest of the week end was spent at home sorting through the various boxes and things. Woody is still going through his mother's things, and finds that he can toss a lot of it . Time has healed many wounds of loss. Me? I am chucking tons of old clothes and things that I know in my heart I will never use. We laugh about this and know that this is a good thing and a chance to start over...
Woody and I also have had a bit of a chance ot kiss and make up. We are almost ready to go to the new place where ever it is...together. We talked a lot about not fighting and how while this is hugely stressfull we have got to remember that we are on the same team....
I am still haunted by the loss of this place. As we drove through the moonscape of Chain of Craters I told Woody that to live in this the begining and end of the world has been such an amazing thing for me. This is such a unique place. He sees it as just another place. But to me it is a place of endless wonder, it facinates me, its diversity and how God can do so many things in such a small place...I felt special for having lived here. Even with the struggles this is a special place and I have loved it so...
Tonight I did something that Ive not done in a long time. My home in California had a large rose garden, that was my pride and joy. I gave it up to come here. I plated roses here in the front yard but they havent done well. Until this very dry year. They are blooming like mad this week... Its flower time. I went out and cut away a huge amout of dead wood, pruning off two years of accumulated dead wood...Sort of like our lives right now, all of this dead wood. Even the business and the house is like dead wood. Not fruitful not productive....cut it away so that the new may grow. I pruned and pruned. With the warmer nights the new shoots will come forth almost immediatly. I felt a sense of rightness. An old habit.An old activity that placed itsself before me... it was good very good.
