Work, work, work!

All of you who were holding your breath waiting for pics can go ahead and gasp for air now!
Photos have been posted at this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/elizacacia

Work on the studio proceeds apace. The floor is all done, the first inspection has occurred, the Trex porch is on (our 'deck' has a porch!), and at this very moment Mike is sawing off the roof overhang - VERY noisy as his saw cuts through the corrugated metal. Remember, there is no insulation in the walls in these climes, and windows are single pane, so every noise comes right on in even with the doors and windows closed. Thank goodness for those noise-cancelling headphones that we got for airplane trips! They really help during some of the more noisy bits of construction.

We had our first snow! Yes, even in Hawaii! At 13,796' elevation, Mauna Kea (white mountain) does indeed get snow, although the locals say it didn't get any at all last winter. It's very pretty and just far enough away that we can appreciate it. Mostly though, we've been getting lots of rain. It is the rainy season after all. But seldom does it rain all day long. Or over all the island at once. So we just enjoy whatever comes our way.

Kerry passed her PADI SCUBA certification yesterday! Yipee! It has been a life-goal for her for years now, and although there was a bit of a rocky start to the program, she has ended up really learning a lot and enjoying the experience. She says she'll definitely do more diving, and soon! Winter brings in some of the best dive conditions for this island, so I guess the timing was pretty good after all. (We kinda wondered with all this rain and runoff and flash flooding.)

My garden now has 2 kinds of bananas, the baby cacao tree, and an ulu (breadfruit tree) awaiting planting. Oh, and a coconut palm that we got from a local school at their Arbor Day giveaway. I thought Arbor Day was always in April, but apparently it's in November on the Islands. It makes sense when you think of the right time for tree-planting; since this is the start of the rainy season, it's time to plant trees... and gardens. All my many seedlings are growing rapidly and, as they get big enough, being transplanted into the free-form beds I'm creating. I've also been hard at work - and it IS work, believe me - clearing the Outback, as we call our land beyond the chain-link fence. It's full of shoulder high tanglefoot fern and sticker vines - I refuse to call it sensitive plant anymore but that's what it is. Every part of the plant from roots, to vines, leaves and even seed pods, is covered in little thorns that scratch you, or worse, break off and irritate the skin. 'Insensitive plant' would be a better name! The tanglefoot fern is almost fun to pull out in comparison! I'm making paths through this jungle to get to the spot where I want to create my tropical garden, with the fore-mentioned trees and other jungly fruits & vegies.

Lest you think we are working at the expense of playtime, let me put your mind at ease. We take our morning and evening walks almost every day, especially enjoying the flocks of little birds, the sunrise/sunset colors, and getting to know our new neighbors a little. We've been spending time at the beaches and took the whole day off on my birthday to meander about along the coastline, exploring every little pocket beach and even discovering more lava-tube caves to explore further. The warm ponds are only a 20 minute drive from here, and we take advantage of that every now and then; not nearly often enough I'll grant. And we're all doing a lot of reading when it really is too rainy, or too sunny, to do anything else. Now that's luxury!