Take me for a walk in the morning dew, my honey..

Beautiful morning at 7:30 at 5000'+ on Hualalai.

Ohelo berries:



Pukiawe leaf clusters:


Lehua flower & buds:


The original "Morning Dew" by Bonnie Dobson.

Minimal Word Thursday

From left: Kiawe, Naio, Milo, Ilima. Click for higher res.

Above Opelo Road in Waimea

Almost Wordless Sunday (click for higher resolution):


Waimea



Atop a little Pu'u in the mist

Foraging for Food Not As Glamorous (Or Germ-free) As You Might Think!

Love the Advertiser headline:

Adventurer dies on Kauai

Oregonian fell ill after living and foraging in wilderness

By Diana Leone
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — An Oregon man who gave up his material possessions to live off the land in Kaua'i's Kalalau Valley this summer in an adventure reminiscent of the "Into the Wild" book and movie died suddenly Aug. 14 of an acute respiratory illness.

Kenny Cox, 31, formerly of Eugene, arrived in May and for 70 days lived in the open, gathering and eating fruit, plants and even grass after he ran out of rice and beans. Kaua'i residents who befriended him after he came out of the wilderness area in mid-July recalled him as free-spirited and down to earth.

Top of Huehue in the Afternoon

Two images from an afternoon walk starting at the 5000' level, top of Huehue Street.


A'ali'i seed pods and leaves.


From 3000' -4500' was socked in.

Somewhere, William Wallace is Weeping

The Scottish Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill (heh) decides that the interests of the 270 dead, and their survivors, matter less than the current suffering of the only man convicted in their deaths. But the decision wasn't really about Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, or his prostate cancer, it was about a politician and an attorney (surprise!) making a display, to the whole world, of his own moral splendor, his compassion and mercy shining like a peacock's feathers. Self righteousness, or to put it in Christian terms, pride, is at the heart of this . In this case, pride in his own compassion and mercy. Of course, that's assuming there isn't a Libyan oil money angle.

Another view, from Alan Black (who writes that al-Megrari is probably guilty, but convicted on marginally sufficient evidence) :

When the Libyan terrorist was accused, had the case been a regular one, the preponderance of evidence would likely have seen him walk, not proven. Much opinion was given to the security of the conviction at the time (many people thought Iran or Palestinian groups were involved.) Political pressure was enormous for a guilty verdict, and it was delivered, in a special court set up without a jury. Maybe the government feared the possibility of the third verdict. Had the suspect gone free, not proven, the desire for more investigation would have ratcheted up. Maybe another suspect would have been charged. Maybe not. One thing is for sure, the Libyan terrorist's burden of shame would have been meaningless in Libya. Like today, he would have been received as a hero.

The failure of the Scottish court to follow its own evidence standards has lead it to this shameful day. They made the bed. Now they have to lie in it. Coupled with Scottish isolation is the ridiculous nature of the nation's inferiority complex exhibited by the Scottish Justice minister in his television appearances. He preached to Wolf Blitzer on CNN like a Protestant minister delivering the self-righteous sermon in a dreary Scottish church. Ultimately, you can't rely on a country that isn't independent. Or a man who covers his weakness with the self-righteous cloak of phony principle. Scottish independence is needed immediately so that the current narrow form of Scottish nationalism can wither.

"When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities" said by David Hume, the 18th century Scottish Enlightenment philosopher.

Maybe the Justice Minister should have looked at his nation's greatest philosopher before letting the party begin in Libya.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/black/detail?entry_id=45928#ixzz0OqhaUARO


William Wallace

Les Paul

I remember these Les Paul and Mary Ford mini-shows:


Did the guitar solo give you chicken skin like it did me?

An eccentric-looking old man!

In September 1964, almost 45 years ago, I saw Bob Dylan at Town Hall Philadelphia. Here's the set he played. A skinny young guy, dressed in black, by himself on the stage, with just his guitar and harmonica ("Like a Rolling Stone" was still a year away). In that era between the beatniks and the hippies, Dylan was the epitome of cool, and for the first and last time in my life I was, in that crowd, at the cutting edge of the avant-garde.

Today there's this story about Dylan being picked up by the cops in New Jersey. The part of the story that caught my eye, or cut me to the quick, depending on how you look at it, was this: "[Residents of a home for sale] called the police after spotting an 'eccentric-looking old man' wandering around their front yard. It was pouring rain, and the man was alone, looking haggard and lost."
Yikes. I guess I really am getting old.

Here's a video from about that time:

Felicia, you're a big disappointment!

Mixed in with the relief that this island was once again spared the effects of a hurricane, I'm somewhat ashamed to say, is a feeling of disappointment that once again I missed the thrill of a passing storm. I remember Hurricane Iwa in 1982. I was working for the post office at the Honolulu Airport, and even though most businesses and government offices were closed, we were considered essential, so I drove to work just before things got diciest. The sky was a gray-green color I've never seen before or since, large items were flying through the air above the freeway, the winds were pushing my little VW Rabbit around...and I felt completely exhilarated. Ah well, probably just the low pressure.

Now everyone who feverishly checked and re-checked the satellite images and forecasts has to go back to...whatever it was they did before. Normal life. How boring.

But normal life is still good. This is part of the trail I walk 5 days a week. Not too shabby.



It's some compensation for missing horrendous damaging wind, rain, and surf, I suppose.