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March 2007

Aloha. March has been beautiful. It is obvious that spring is here. In the last two weeks, most of the plants and trees have started to flower and the deciduous trees are getting their leaves back. Though most visitors don’t think we have seasonal change, there really is a noticeable difference as we go through the seasons. There were a lot of friends visiting this month (but no house guests) and we currently have both foster kittens and puppies that we are caring for. We have yet to find boredom. We hope you enjoy our photos.

• The big event (fundraiser) for the Maui Humane Society is called the Fur Ball. Held at the Wailea Marriot, it was a grand affair with a Mardi Gras feel.
• No, we didn’t wear shorts and tee shirts to this.
• Our friends Putu and Dr. Bob.
• This is Tracy from the Humane Society and her husband.
• We also do some volunteer work with the Whale Sanctuary. Here we were helping with a group of school kids who were learning how radio controlled research boats function. They were also learning about the different types of Limu (seaweed).
• The kids were more interested in aiming the boats small cameras at a turtle sunning on the rocks.
• Here are the foster kittens, they about two weeks old in this photo.
• This is the mom cat. She looks a lot like a Starbucks freak.
• This is Marge and Charlotte who are visiting from Oregon.
• My brother Craig and his girlfriend Denise arrive. They have made a permanent move here. Denise has never been to Hawaii so this is all very new to her.
• Friends Eric and Barbara arrived the same day as my brother. You can tell they didn’t expect us to meet them at the airport. They were here for a family reunion and they are building a home here.
• My brother and I are enjoying the surf. This is one of my favorite ways to get exercise.
• Old friends from San Marcos, Joe and Ginny are on a Hawaiian cruise which originated in California with five Hawaiian ports. Lahaina was one of  their stops.
• This is Rosie. She and her six puppies are our latest foster group.
• We are not really sure what her mix is… even Cynthia can’t be sure and that’s rare.
• This little mouse has to deal with the cats who like to bring them to us. The cats think it is funny to set them down and watch us catch them. They think it is some kind of Hide and Seek.
• This unusual Ultra-lite flew over the house one day. Looks like a toy.
• This is how we get most of our goods. There is a tug (left) towing a barge. They use about a quarter mile of cable to tow them so when the tug slows down it won’t be run over by the barge.
• The whales are still here. They start to head back to Alaska in early April and by the third week they are pretty much gone.
• Cynthia, Hannah and Jenny are taking a nap. We had a few days of rain so it was good nap weather.
• Kaiser likes a nap regardless of the weather.
• Sadly, a swimmer went missing and search and rescue looked for him for a few days. The weather made it difficult at times.
• The fire departments rescue copter used the park as it’s base during the search. There was no sign of the swimmer.
• It had been a while since we had any measurable rain so this was appreciated.
• It doesn’t rain in Kihei often but it can really rain hard. This was measured at the rate of 2.5 inches per hour.
• Our kitty Purrl is not one of those who appreciates the rain.
• The kittens are growing.
• And playing.
• And eating.
• More kitties.
• Kitties.
• They are so cute. Yes, I like kittens.
• This one thinks he’s tough.
• Master Artist the “Frogman” Tim Cotterill is on tour from England. We have been collecting his gecko sculptures and met him in one of the art galleries. I think Tim has been staring at his art too intently.
• Pineapple! Cynthia planted this from the top of one that we ate. Almost a year and a half later it starts to blossom from down inside the center.
• It pushes up and changes color.
• The stalk grows longer and the fruit gets more shape.
• As the fruit gets bigger it gets blue/lavender flowers.
• Now the flowers are finished and it is developing a crown. We will see in next months photos how it develops.
• Uh oh, more kittens.
• Still more kittens.
• The puppies are growing too.
• They are just a few days old so they still look like little fat pigs. Very cute.
• Poor mom, these guys can eat. She is a great mom.
• This is the first coconut that we taken from our tree. It is way too much work to open so if we feel the need to crack a coconut then it’s off to Safeway. It took about fifteen minutes of hacking with a machete and made quite a mess.
• The kittens are starting to show interest in real food.
• Though showing interest, they are still confused.
• From a previous foster litter, our cats Purrl and her mom Asia can sleep in any position.
• Another sunset stroll on the beach.
• An Aloha sunset.

Aloha for now, we look forward to hearing from you.