Ono Day.... starting in Volcano

Yesterday was an Ono (Hawaiian for good) Day! It started off with Wes, Valentine (our dog) and I driving up to Volcano at 6 am in order to get to the farmer's market there. It opens at 7 and Connie warned me that you have to get there early because it is composed of many small farmers instead of a few large ones and they sell out early. Most everything sold there is local and organic. There were lots of people there when we arrived and with Connie's advice, we drove through the first lot and into the second lot. As we drove in, there was a "No animals allowed sign" so we took Vali for a walk and then put her back in the car. Luckily it was a chilly morning up in Volcano, as you can see by the way people are dressed in the pictures. Speaking of the pictures, I had to use my cell phone camera because I left the Sony at home, so they are not the best quality.

The market was amazing and really fun. We will drive up there about one Sunday a month. There were several booths with prepared food, about 5 Thai booths, a Chinese Booth, A Japanese Booth and three or four bakers with incredible things. There were some booths selling teas and coffee and Wes bought a cup of coffee from one of them, but I did not get beans as my favorite beans are grown a few miles North of us from Hilo Sharks Coffee.

They also have a rummage sale going, which was fun. I found a fantastic German Mandoline (that is the kind you slice with, not a musical instrument) for 75 cents. I have a Swiss one on it's way in our container, but this was a nice one to use in the meantime.

The market has expanded and now is in two parts with one of the parking lots dividing it. All of the booths are under cover, so there is no need to worry about weather.

There were all kinds of ono produce for sale. We bought a few kinds of bananas, long slender green onions, beautiful baby kale, sweet onions, hard neck garlic, a white pineapple, purple shallots, deep red Roma tomatoes (picked the day before), yellow squash, spring lettuces with edible flowers and some stringless green beans. There were tons of flowers for sale and many plants and herbs too. We filled three of my Harrod's Shopping Bags and drove back home by 8:30 so Wes could go to his Yoga class.

More coming about the rest of our Ono Day... Gleaning the Sweet Potato Fields!

A Whole Lot of Plantin' Goin' On!

Well, we have been living in our new Hawaiian Home for 10 days! Yesterday was planting day for our new fruit and spice trees. Last Monday we went with our friend Kelly to Plant It Hawaii, a wholesale nursery in Kurtistown to pick up the order we selected when we were here in November. Yesterday, Kelly's farm worker Abel (who I call the incredible hunk) came to plant the trees and vines. He brought lots of organic furtilizer, compost and cinders to aireate the soil. Here is what we got planted yesterday: 2 Eureka Lemons, 2 Improved Meyer Lemons, 2 Variegated Pink Eureka Lemons, 2 Moro Blood Oranges, 3 Buddah's Hand Citrons, 2 Calamondin Limes, 2 Kaffir Limes (they are going on the lanais, underplanted with herbs), 2 Tahiti Limes, 4 Minneola Tangelos (excellent for juicing), 1 Kahalu'u Avocado, 1 Sharwill Avocado, 2 Dwarf Meiwa Kumkwats, 1 KeittMango, 4 Vanilla vines, 1 Allspice tree, 1 Cinnamon Tree, 1 Clove Tree, 2 Nutmeg Trees, 2 large Curry Leaf Trees (going in large pots on front porch where it is more protected), 2 each of Yellow, purple and orange Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) vines and about 30 varieties of herbs and peppers which will go in containers on the lanais and front porch. As these grow, flower and fruit, I will share more pictures of the trees as well as recipes and ideas as to what to do with the fruit and spices!

A BIG Thank You to our friend Kelly Moran of Hilo Brokers for the plants and labor. Another round of thanks goes to Abel the "Incredible Hunk" who planted all of the trees and vines for us. If you ever need a great real estate agent, contact Kelly at:

www.hilo-brokers.com
kelly@Hilo-Brokers.com
Office: 808-969-9400 x11
Cell: 808-938-5757
Fax: 808-969-7900
Toll Free: 800-769-4456

Visiting Akaka Falls

We drove down the road the other day to visit Akaka Falls. It is about 10 minutes from our house and nestled in a spectacular gorge. We tried to time the trip so that the cruise ship passengers were already gone, so we went late in the afternoon. However, it is said that it is even more spectacular when you go early in the day, so we will make a return trip to check that out. The circle trail was closed for construction, so we took the shorter easier trail to get there. Still, there are hundreds of steps to go up and down as you make your way to the viewing area. The entire trail was paved, wandering over streams and beautiful vegetation and most of it had hand rails, but I do have some friends that might find it too physically challenging. The view was spectacular. The water falls over 420' into a huge pool. Coming and going to the falls you drive through the little plantation town Honomu. There are about 2 blocks of commercial buildings, a few shops, a cafe and a very old theater. It is easy to imagine what this little town was like back in the Sugar Days of Hawaii, as not much has really changed there in those many years.

WE HAVE ARRIVED!

Aloha!

No pictures on this post. We have arrived on the island and we are getting settled in. But I promise many pictures are to come!

Our "goods" are on a container ship and won't be here for a few weeks yet. It was quite an ordeal deciding what to bring and making sure that it all fit in the container! Our movers, West Point Relocation specialize in oceanic moves and most of their customers are moving to/from Hawaii, Japan and Thailand. They did a terrific job and were superb at packing up our art and high value pieces of furniture.

We had a series of very successful garage sales in November and December. We also donated hundreds of books (they don't do so well in our humid Hawaiian climate) and clothes to charity. It is amazing how many things we really will not need in Hawaii. We got rid of many cold weather clothes as well as most of our leather goods. I could not bear to part with a few hand bags and sandals, so they will get a frequent wipe down to help preserve them. But leather jackets and most shoes went out the door. Finally as we were packing we discovered many other things that we really did not need and had a final pile of donations that filled an entire 1 car garage. After living here just a few days now, we are discovering that we need even less than we thought we would.

Hilo had over 30" of rain since we were here in November. It is very green and lush of course. The stream and water fall on our property are flowing too. On Monday when we arrived, we were delighted to find a bright sunny day! Tuesday was another sunny one and then we had a good rain Tuesday night and it cleared in time for me to go to the farmer's market at 9 am.

Speaking of the market... THIS is one of the reasons we love Hawaii so much! The market in Hilo is small by California standards. What it lacks in space, it supersedes all California Farmer's Markets in abundance and fantastic fruits and vegetables. I have to say only the Mercados in Mexico City & Cuernavaca have impressed me more than our little Hilo Farmer's Market. I brought home so many wonderful things. I will be sharing about each of our local fruits and veggies in the future. Some I have never seen before and others, like the fern fronds were only seasonal treats we had to forage for on the mainland. Here they are available year round.

We find that as each day passes we affirm the notion that we really do belong here and that some unseen force has drawn us to this beautiful island. It is hard to adequately describe the affinity I feel for the land, ocean and people of Hawaii. Living so close to the ocean, surrounded by sights, sounds and fragrances of such incomparable beauty brings me to the conclusion that this is truly one of the most special places on earth. I am honored to be one of Hawaii's newest citizens. I hope that I can make some contribution to this island and her people, whom we love already.

Sunrises!

Everymorning in our Hawaiian Home brings a different view of the sunrise.

These pictures were taken the first few days of November.

Sunrises on Hilo Bay