When the first Polynesians roamed the vast Pacific in search of land, they loaded their canoes with all kinds of plants and animals to sustain themselves once they arrived at their destination—which turned out to be a place we call Hawai’i. One of the animals with which they arrived? Pigs. Pigs are culturally significant to Hawai’i, as you may know from attending a lu’au.  But did you know they roam wild in and around civilization? 

For the past few days, we’ve experienced winter-like weather for our islands: partly sunny, partly cloudy, chance of rain. The trades come and go. I see squalls wafting across the ocean, but they never seem to make it ashore with nothing more than a few spatters of rain. The air is heavy with moisture, making it perfect weather for rainbows. 

Every Saturday morning locals and visitors alike gather at the foot of Diamond Head to sip fresh brewed Hawaii coffee, peruse the rows of local produce and sample a delectable variety of freshly made foods that range from grilled burgers made with 100% grass fed beef from North Shore Cattle Company to Licious Dishes’ vegan raw offerings sourced from local farmers. The Farmer’s Market at KCC happens every Saturday morning from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the parking lot of the Kapiolani Community College. 

Next month, we expect about 100 pairs of Laysan albatrosses will return to Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge to breed, lay a single and care for their one chick until it fledges some time in July. Factor in three birds for each nest site (not all birds breed), and I don’t even need a calculator to sum up the fact that Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t contribute much to the overall Laysan albatross population. Not compared to Midway.  But that may change.

I took this picture of a friend's flower floating in her fish pond. Any guesses as to what kind of flower it is?

Pope Benedict XVI canonized Jozef De Veuster yesterday, Rosary Sunday, October 11, 2009. In Hawai'i, we know him as Father Damien.  He arrived in Hawai’i on March 19, 1864 as Brother Damien. Two months later, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace ordained him a priest. In 1873, Father Damien asked to be assigned to a peninsula on the north shore of Moloka’i, known as Kalaupapa, where he could minister to the 816 Hawaiians who had been exiled there, because they suffered from Hansen’s Disease.

For centuries Hawaiians traveled to a healing heiau (sacred site) in Lawai valley. Then, in the late 1800s, Asian immigrants arrived to work on sugar plantations and erected Taoist and Shinto temples. In 1904, a series of eighty-eight small Shingnon shrines--miniature temples with figures of wood and stone--were crafted and set along a path to replicate a traditional temple pilgrimage route of more than 1,000 miles in Shikoku, Japan, that was established more than 1,000 years ago. 

Visit Kaua‘i’s National Wildlife Refuges during National Wildlife Refuge Week, October 11 - 17, and celebrate America’s wildlife heritage! Our National Wildlife Refuge System is made up of more than 550 refuges throughout the United States. From Alaska to Puerto Rico, from Maine to Guam, Refuges protect more than 95 million acres set aside to conserve habitat for birds and other wildlife.