Hawaiian Vacation

A few weekends ago we made the drive over towards Hana for a bit of a Hawaiian (stay)cation at lovely, tropical Wai' anapanapa state park. This is our tourist beach photo.





We camped and hiked and swam. It was wonderful just to get away for a couple of days. First time I've spent the night away from "home" in over a year! Yikes, that's got to change!













The view from our camp "kitchen".














Picnic.


























Very lovely Pandanas/Hala/Screwpine forest that we found along the shoreline trail.











































There was a cool lava tube cave that was accessible right beside the black sand beach where we went swimming. The water was perfect there, almost magical.













There were also some caves set a little more inland that had shallow pools.





























































Lots of black lava rock, sea arches, blowholes and tropical plants. Perfect ingredients for a Hawaiian vacation!

Goats!

Last weekend, we visited the local goat farm, Surfing Goat Dairy. They actually had an old surfboard in the nursery as a part of the "kid" play area.














There were several goat kids between the age of one week and one month. They were roughly the size of a large cat or small dog and they were all very cute!






This one little lady took an interest in us and tried to nibble on Russell's boot and on our fingers. You can see that her horns have already been cut. We learned that they cut the horns between 3 and 7 days old in an effort to decrease "head-butting" related injuries later on and also so they won't get caught in the fence. Sometimes the horns will grow even if they are cut at this early stage, but usually not.

























During the farm tour, we got to help feed some of the goats. They were all very friendly, sweet and curious.






















































This big guy with the beard was named Bob Hope. And when I say big, he was probably a little bigger than me! He was the "stud" on the farm; the papa to many generations of goats.















This is Mr. Waddles. If you look under his chin, you'll see where he got his name. In another year, he will be one of the new "studs" on the farm.













The milking stand. The lady goats march right up (actually they push and shove their way to the front) and position themselves on the stand. Once all are in position, they get to enjoy a sweet treat of grains from a trough at the front, while they are milked with the help of a milking machine. You can see them kneeling down on their front hooves to reach the trough. They are milked a few times each day.











As a part of the tour, we got to try our hand at milking!




































I milked a dairy goat!

It's hard to believe it is already the second week of May. But, it is hard to recognize the changing of the seasons here on Maui, they are so subtle. . . it could just as easily be October, except for the lovely longer days we have been having because it is the springtime! The bougainvillea plant near our garden is in full bloom and it is an amazing flush of red and pink, hard to look at for too long because the color is so intense. And last week I harvested a bunch of Lima beans along with some Mizuna, Red Oak lettuce and Arugala. The Lima beans came from a planting back in the autumn and have continued to produce more and more beans, even after the trellis gave out and the plants grow along the ground! This is the same spot in the garden where we had the pumpkin plants that wouldn't stop. It seems the soil is extra nutrient dense in that corner of the garden, though I am not sure why. Last week, I planted some sunflower and okra seeds and the okra seedlings are on their way! I can't wait to get them in the ground so they can start getting big and strong and making delicious okra for us to devour!
To see what we have been up to in the kitchen, check http://knrkitchen.blogspot.com/

Well, it's been awhile. . .

A few weeks ago we hiked on a trail we had never been on before called Swinging Bridges. It is also known as the Waihe'e Valley trail and travels through the valley, along irrigation projects and across several stream crossings. Along the way, there are two crossings that utilize swinging bridges, ala Indiana Jones "lite". Although we were not armed with whip or treasure map, Russell did wear his brown fedora in the spirit of Dr. Jones. At the entrance to the property where the hike begins there is a concession stand that sells the most delicious mac nuts we have ever had. The nuts were locally grown, right there in the valley, and ever so lightly roasted and salted. Yuuuuummmm. . .

A recent dinner harvest from the garden: Mustard greens, basil, cherry tomatoes, collard greens, romaine lettuce and green onions. Shortly after this harvest, the ducks escaped again and devoured all of our greens. . . (sigh).







But a few weeks ago we were getting all kinds of tomatoes (about 1/2 pint per day) and okra. As far as we can tell, ducks aren't interested in either one. Though now we are entering the time of year where there is more rain and the tomatoes aren't liking it.













On the way we have: carrots, parsnips and eggplant. . .