I'm too busy to post this. Let's see, I have an article to write about my Kuliouou hike last week on Oahu. I have a hike to make this evening up in Kokee--trying to get in some elevation training. I have articles to write about touring Kahuku Farms and Otsuji Farms on Oahu. And one about eating lunch on a vanilla farm on Big--I mean, Hawaii--Island. As you might surmise, we have a suite of stories (and a video) coming on growing and eating sustainably in Hawaii.
But I managed to review the photographs I took last month and collect a few for this slide show, and I am glad I did. We get so caught up in looking forward--what we have to do--that we rarely stop and look back--at what we have done. And, yet, when I hike, I do this whenever I come to a fork in the trail. I choose my path, take a few steps, and look back. This mental snapshot helps guide me on my return trip. I learned this trick when I was a member of Kauai Search and Rescue. (I learned a few other things, too, and none helped me turn left instead of right last week along a stretch of Kuliouou Ridge Trail. But that story will have to wait.)
Last month, I am reminded that all four rehabbed Laysan albatross chicks fledged. A big, giant, six-and-a-half-foot-wingspan of a hooray for that. Nene started pairing up--and getting protective--in advance of their fall nesting season. The Kilauea Lighthouse went under wraps again, for the second phase of its renovation. I spent a few minutes some 50 feet under the sea during a night dive at Tunnels Beach. It's always nice making bubbles underwater, as my friend Laura likes to say. I hiked Kalalau Trail, something I do not do often enough. My husband and I rescued a baby chicken; alas, it did not survive. And I toured a few of the aforementioned farms.
Once again, I am reminded how rich my life is--with friends, adventures, and good food!