Someone Who Loves Me

The heading in my email from the dog treat site I subscribe to read "Baggens at Peace." My heart sank. Before I even opened it visions for my Zoe started to emerge. I opened the mail and started to read. When I read where the writers dog had lain at her door, I saw Zoe. Her dog was dying and I knew every pain and emotion that she was going through and started to cry. 


Nico got worried, so quickly ,I dried my tears and got myself in order. Just then Max looked up at me and I felt the invisible tap on my shoulder. The whisper in my ear from nobody but yet I knew it was someone reminding me. "Max is only four but you can't take him for granted." 


I got off my chair and hugged him and ran my hands through his stiff, dusty fur. It had been a month since his last bath and worse yet two weeks since I've been able to walk him due to tendonitis in my foot. With his stinky paw  on my knee I told him, though it was late in the evening, he was getting a bath so that he could feel good again. 


That night he slept on my bed next to me. He smelled so good and felt even better. I was bound and determined to appreciate him even more. 


Tonight as I sat at my computer, frustrated, trying to figure out a program, Max put his paw on me. It was 8 PM and no one had walked him yet and since my daughter had hurt her knee and my son in law was complaining about his foot, I knew if Max was walked it was just going to be half a block. 


I tied on my shoes, loaded my phone into my pocket and grabbed my keys. Max knew the signs and was leaping like a lamb by the time I got to the door. I figured if I walked slow enough and let him sniff as much as he wanted it would suffice for not being able to walk at any length. 


We walked the half block to the park and he pulled me into it. I'll let him take the lead, I thought, maybe he'll do his business and head home. 


He walked, sniffed and peed from one end to the other. We made a full circle and then as we got back to the sidewalk, Max looked back at me. The wind blew and caught his fur just right. The fur covering his one eye lifted,and with that one eye, the look he gave me was as though he was saying, "can we go further?


 How could I not. 


Now were home. He's laying at my feet, I'm eating a bowl of cereal watching "You've Got Mail" for the umpteenth time. Comfort food, a feel good movie and my companion next to me.


 For this moment everything is all right in my world. 


 ( If you would  like to read her blog it is http://www.all-natural-dog-treat.com/Baggins_Bites-backissues.html)  

Just another day in paradise

I took a ride out to the North Shore this morning with Nico. Checking out another shave Ice stand for my "Holo Holo" blog. It was out in the middle of nowhere and right across the street from the beach area called Sharks Cove  Nico nocked his shave ice over again. That's the second time this week he's done that. I think he is getting tired of testing shave ice stands with me.

I had their Grilled Ahi with Teriyaki Sauce and Pico de Gallo over it. Delicious. We took the food over to the other side of the road to watch the waves.

This is what you see from the shave ice stand

As I sat on a large rock and Nico walked around taking his own set of photos I enjoyed my food. Nico was too busy picking up plants, rocks and the run of the mill treasures on the ground. He was to intrigued to eat. 

I started snapping photos from where I sat and could not stop. The beauty of the ocean was like popcorn. Once you take a photo you just can't stop. 

It's just water but throw in a little foam and it becomes mesmerizing 

From blue to blue

As I look at the ocean I ask myself, Why do I find it so hard to do this? I must leave the house more often

The waves just kept coming

It was like a step back in time

Then Nico got into the picture. He was pulling up a long piece of grass

Then you turn around from the ocean and this is what you see. Reality. But if you look on the top of the mountain you can see a big estate. That was once owned by Elvis Presley 

Time to go and thankfully we head away from the traffic that is now backing up

We pass the Dole Pineapple Fields as we head to Wahiawa where I am going to go to the egg farm to get some eggs

We drive down the street appropriately named Palm Avenue

We pass a cherry blossom just coming into bloom

And we head down the road that leads to the egg farm

The Egg Farm

Then it's home again, home again, jiggity jig

Had a grand day, Max was waiting at the door and Nico then went off to his other grandma's to get the ants out of his pants. I took a long nap.

Information on birds

I thought maybe some would like to look at a few sites that I visited for more information on birds. http://bit.ly/deXngt This is the Audubon Society. There are some beautiful photos of birds and information on the endangered Hawaiian birds.

Also if you would like to read more about the egret you can go to this site; http://www.audubon.org/bird/BoA/F38_G1h.html

Old Men or why I like Egrets

Here is the guy who started my day. As Nico and I trudged our way up the long winding ramp to his school I looked up. There was a large Egret sitting in the very top of a tree on the school grounds. It was as though he was smiling down on us or more likely trying to send some good juju to Nico so that he would not cry when I left him at his class.

SENDING GOOD JUJU TO NICO

What is it that attracts me to these birds? As I drive down the road I have to whip out my camera to quickly try to capture them. Yes, I have got to stop taking photos while I drive. Well one saving grace. I don't talk on my cell while operating the vehicle. Yes, I know that doesn't cut it. 

Well for these particular photos, I pulled over. Egrets were every where. I quickly yanked my camera from my purse and tried to focus as one Egret was standing in the sprinkler. He gave me the side eye as I rolled the window down to capture him and sauntered away turning his back to me. I swear I heard him say, "tis to laugh, it tis to laugh."

"Man, I missed another good shot." I slowly drove down the road some more (yes I know I said I pulled over but I was on the private road leading out of the recycling center) and there were a few of them walking on the sidewalk.

Giving the eye

The other eye giver

Now I've heard these birds described as Great White Egrets. The Great White is supposed to have a yellow beak and black legs. Hmm that's what he looks like. But every time someone talks about this bird they call him a Cattle Egret which is supposed to have yellow legs. Nope doesn't look yellow to me. 

This bird does have the same M O that the cattle egret has. He will follow the machines around the field waiting for bugs to be dug up or follow any disturbance in the soil or lawn being mowed waiting for a free lunch. 

Ah, but is there a free lunch if he is in the Kunia  fields a few blocks from my house? You've heard me mention the Frankinseeds a million times. But it is worth mentioning a trillion times. Monsanto and their GMO's are growing strong and I worry. As the flocks of birds fly gracefully to the fields in the early morning sunrise, they could be sickened and die like so many tested animals in research on Monsanto's GMO's. 

I would miss this old man of a bird who slowly walks the turf thrusting his head out and then back again, lifting his legs as though he wanted to make sure his knees did not give out. But if it was proved that the birds died from eating Monsanto grown corn etc. Monsanto would only come back with a suit against the birds like they did the farmers whom they accused of having acquired Monsanto patented seeds with out their permission. 

I hope not. They may remind me of old men but their young. I would only wish them a long life. May they grow to be old and cranky. 

His knees hurt because there on backwards 

Watch what you say or it could bite you in the end

Budget cuts sliced our library visits to pieces. Wednesday is a short day at Nico's school so it was a given. Wednesday comes, I get him from school, pile a few of his buddies into the car and off we go to, as Nico called it, the book house.

Now the library closes two or three wednesdays a month to help put money back into the state coffers so they can blow it on, oh lets say, a big trip to China  for the Shanghai Expo for 2010. (see end of article)

Back to our outing. So now the library is closed Wednesdays and I suggest today, Tuesday, we go as it has been a long time since we last went. Nicolai chooses his friend Luke to go along with us. 

Knowing how crazy they get I remind them to behave. They nod their heads vigorously and off we go. At the children's section I once again tell them if they don't behave we will have to go home and they will not get to rent a CD. 

I'm being stern because I want to work at my computer and hope against hope that they will want to rent their CD's so much that they will keep quiet. I'm sitting with my laptop open and getting ready to do some writing. Laughing comes from the far corner. 

"Nico get over here" They both appear at the table looking anxious. "You guys better calm down or we will get kicked out. Do you want to get kicked out?" They shake their heads like little bobbles. Back they go again to their corner.

Finely I have everything all set up. I'm two words into my blog and the security guard comes over and tells me that they are now doing flying tackles behind the stacks. 

Damn. I had finely found my muse. But my word is my word. I call them over and lower the boom. Though we aren't really kicked out they see the security guard standing next to me. I tell them it's over, no CD's and they have to get their books (that's what I really want them at the library for, not the CD's) and we have to check out and go home. 

I'm bummed. I thought I would have at least 20 minutes to myself. I'm the one being punished here not Nico or Luke. But Nico thinks that the library is really for Bakugan CD's and that books are just something he has to take home in order to get his movies. 

So I take them home. Nico with his bottom lip dragging on the ground and his shoulders hunched. ( I swear their is a marker for that in our genes as my daughter, granddaughter and I did that when we were young) 

It took us longer to drive to the library then it did to visit. Disappointing Nico ruins my afternoon. I hate having to be the leveler. I drop Luke off as the rain comes down from the gray, gray skies. As we pull on to the main boulevard I try to cheer Nico up by telling him we will go on an adventure on Saturday with our cameras but his lip still hangs. 

Then I see my reward for having to put up with all this. The ground is wet, the sky is darkened with clouds and the colors on the Orchid tree are vibrant. The flowers have dropped on to the road as though to make a flowered path for me. Nothing softens a bite in the butt like a carpet of flowers. 

 

http://hawaii.gov/gov/news/releases/2009-news-releases/china-trip-update-promoting-tourism-hawai-i-exports-and-clean-energy-partnerships

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s decision this week to spend money on the Shanghai Expo for 2010 was a very wise decision on their part. I’m very excited about it. I’ll be there in Shanghai for that expo as well as to attend ceremonies honoring the 25^th anniversary of our sister-state/province relationship with Guangdong. It will be a much larger trip next year, we will invite members of the community, business community, education community to travel with us on that trip and we certainly hope the media will make that trip. It is going to be a very important