Indulgences

*

Once a day

I indulge...

after my morning walk

the length of the bay

through soft coral sand

to the river mouth

and fine hard sand

to the pier

 

I walk to Java Kai

the Hanalei Cafe

 

where I order my Soy Latte

as my daily indulgence...

What is your treat?

*

The Albatross

*

It was a rainy morning

good for doing chores

and then after 

I suggested that we detour 

out to the bluff

on Princeville

to see the albatrosses

 

the birds nest in the front yards

of residences on the cliff edge

There appeared to be a pair of birds

on most front lawns

  

and then we noticed

a brown ball of fluff

 

doing a 

little preening

alongside Mum

 

baby has a look 

of BIG BIRD

about him

 

You must keep your distance

so the birds are not disturbed

 

so baby did not notice me

watching him

 

as we drove away

we stopped to watch 

another two parents

do you see 

this bird has been tagged

 

the adults wandered off

through the hedge

and made a beautiful whistle call,

and when I asked Beloved

to back up a metre

 

I saw who they had alerted....

*

To thee, thou Wedding-Guest !
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast. 

Farewell, farewell ! but this I tell

He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small ;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.

from

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

*

Sand Patterns

*

Sand Patterns

I wander along the beach

where the retreating tide

 

has left works of art

in the wet sand

from nature's hand

 

come closer

Do you see the shaggy 

red setter dog?

 

grey brown painting

transitory

and timeless etchings

 

gifts from the sea's great dance

 

and an occasional helper...

*

Terminalia

*

Terminalia

 On the sandy shore

giant red leaves spin and dance

to the trade winds' tune

 

Terminalia catappa

a large tropical tree

of the Leadwood family,

which is deciduous

and can grow to 25m

Fruits are red green, 

hard and flattened

The seeds float 

and can be carried considerable distances

on the oceans

The wood has been used 

by the Polynesians for making canoes

*

Mist over Mountains

*

 Mist over the Mountains

In the morning mist

the highest peaks slip away

under the grey cloud

an island song

like a floating river

Rain rain 

Fall fall

Morten Paulsen

Like misty moonlight

watery bewildering

our temporal way

 Issa

 *

Tsunami Day

*

 Tsunami Day in Hanalei...

The great evacuation

from the sea to the bluff

the second run

includes wedding essentials...

a walk on the golf course

with a Bali Hai view

helps to pass the time 

while we wait for the wave

to make its way

to the Islands

a beautiful bridal bouquet 

made from Foodland Supermarket roses

and native red ginger

found in the garden

and bound with string

from the hardware store

the relief is visible

"We are married"

the authentic Hawaiian Tsunami wedding

includes traditional footware!

and on the auspicious day

the birds on the tulip tree

in the blue blue sky

sing with joy...

*

Hula Moon Wedding

*

The Hula Moon Wedding

will go down in the family annals

as the Tsunami Wedding

At 6am the tsunami sirens went off

warning us to evacuate the bay

so as yet unaware of the time

before the expected wave

we grabbed our belongings

and headed for higher ground

After unloading family and belongings 

at the rented house

of a family member

in Princeville on the bluff

we return to the bay

to salvage the wedding food 

and the refreshments

and then 30 of us

spend the day waiting

 At 2pm the road down to Hanalei 

was re-opened

and we made our way back to the bay

with belongings

and food

and beverages galore

And there everyone chipped in:

while some fired up the BBQ

others made floral arrangements 

with flowers collected from neighbouring gardens

others prepared the flares

set the tables

bought copious amounts of ice

for the eskies

found houpia pie for the desert

raided rental homes for cutlery and crockery 

and the hawaiian musician and photographer 

arrive from the south of the island

and by 4.30pm

we had them married...

Oh Happy days

and then we could all relax

and celebrate

under the Hula Moon

*