"Kona Snow," A Pole Cat, & Smoke No Mo'

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

3/26/22

Aloha Everybody!

Well, I see from the weather reports that you're lurching toward Spring -- roller-coaster-like.  Here in

"Snow"in Kona

Kona another sign of Spring is the annual blooming of the coffee trees.  The blossoms are white and all the trees bloom at once, which is quite a sight in an orchard of hundreds or thousands of trees.  From a distance it looks almost like there is snow in the orchards -- "Kona Snow" is what the locals call it. By the way, coffee trees are related to gardenias but they don't smell nearly as sweet.  They also aren't very attractive trees, more like scrawny shrubs.  People have sometimes asked if we have any in our yard so that we can harvest the coffee.  Absolutely not.  The work it would take to turn the coffee beans into actual coffee wouldn't be worth it for the amount you'd get, even though pure Kona coffee sells for $18-40 per pound.  We only drink Kona coffee if someone gives us a pound or two -- otherwise we buy bags of Starbucks for a whole lot less.....

Karen's friend from Oregon left on Tuesday.  They got in one more round of golf on Sunday, this time at Makalei.  They saw the white Peahen twice!  Some people think that there are two different birds on the course, but it isn't clear if anyone has seen both at the same time, so this is still a bit of a mystery. From what they could observe, the one(s) they saw was well-accepted by the other females.  Not sure what the Peacocks think. While Karen played golf I went to Planet Fitness and worked out. Yet again it wasn't crowded at all.  They are still requiring masks, but this will end today.

We got more rain during the week, and the coquis have been going crazy.  My neighbor caught 8 and I caught 4 for a total of 12 this week.  Our hope that the numbers were down because of the dry spell was pure wishful thinking.  But I figure it's like controlling ants -- you know you can't get them all, but you certainly try to eliminate as many as you can.  I estimate that the two of us have killed around 300 coquis or more -- that's a lot of noise and negative environmental impact we've stopped.

Yesterday was my 28th Anniversary of the day I quit smoking. To celebrate still being alive, we went to Planet Fitness, had a burger and a beer at a surf-side restaurant, and then I took a long nap. I note this anniversary every year to remind myself of that very difficult accomplishment.  I was truly addicted, having smoked for over 40 years and trying to quit for about 5 years.  In fact, it's unlikely that I can live long enough smoke-free to equal the length of time I smoked.  I'm certainly glad I quit, of course, but there are residual, progressive effects that can't be reversed and that the advertising crusades for quitting didn't mention, like emphysema.  Certainly all the more reason not to start in the first place, but an argument that would have been lost on the I'm-invincible-and-will-live-forever kid that I was when I began.

Finally, I had a good week befriending one of the neighborhood cats we encounter on our morning

"Pole Cat"

walks. It was sitting on the top of a big post that was part of a garden display by the side of the street -- a "pole cat." What a treat -- I even got to pet it!  I'd love to have another cat as a pet, but we've decided it would be too difficult as long as we keep traveling as much as we do.  So I enjoy these kind of encounters and this one really made my day.

I have an eye exam later today.  My vision seems pretty good so I think the last injection is holding well.  The issue at the moment is how to coordinate the next injection with our trip in May.  It would be ideal if I could hold off until right before we leave, but that will mean a long time between injections.  I'll see what my doc thinks and update you next week.

Ok, that's it for now.  Off to market and breakfast.  Take care and enjoy your spring!