Gifted Fish

My fish. 

Here's a beauty. It's a ehu, aka ruby snapper. I was gifted this fish by a wonderful fisherman who is currently giving all his catch away to senior citizens in our community. It's part of the community effort to support others in our community ohana during these difficult times.  

This is one thing I really love about living where we do. We have a nice community. Of course we have our bad eggs here too, but all in all the people help one another when there is need. Several fishermen are going out to bring back a catch that they give away to the elderly. Several hunters are bringing in pigs, goats, and turkeys which are also being given away to families in need. I know of several gardeners giving away their veggies and fruits. A number of landowners are allowing people come pick the fruits off their trees. This is all part of the aloha spirit that thrives here, if you let it and encourage it. 

Getting back to the fish......... I've never tried eating this fish before, so it's a new experience for me. Cleaning and filleting it was a breeze, outside of the fact that I stabbed my finger on one of the fin spines. I bet that's gonna be sore in a couple of days. Anyway... It was suggested to coat the fish in mayonnaise and bake it. I'll try a small piece like that just to give it a try. And even though I gave half the fish to a senior that I know,  I have plenty of fish to try other preparation methods too. I'm looking forward to tasting my first piece of Hawaiian ehu. .

April 15

Normally this date is Tax Day, but not this time around. Instead, it became Reopen The Market Day. With much trepidation, I reopened the local farmers market. The past couple days were spent prepping, trying to foresee any problems and fixing them before they happened. The coronavirus problem hasn't gone away yet. No, officials waited far too long before taking action for this to be only a short term problem. So we're stuck with this mess. But folks around here still need to eat, and importantly, they need a safer way to get their food than going into a closed in building full of lots of shoppers not wearing protection and not social distancing. Supermarkets are proving to be dangerous places to go.

The market grounds are spacious, open, airy, and normally sunny. It could accommodate 20 vendors widely spaced apart. Parking is such that people can avoid one another with little effort. So working from this base, a small market could be operated far safer than any grocery store. 

I've opened the market to food related items and sanitation/protection items. Period. Nothing else allowed. Today we had 11 vendors show up selling a variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, juices, jams, honey, popcorn, and prepared food. In addition there were some food plants, handmade soap, and masks for sale.

Sign at the entrance. 

Market rules included wide spacing of tents, social distancing, sanitizing of hands and gloves, and facial covering for everybody-- no exceptions. All the vendors, their helpers, and 177 customers complied. But I ended up having to refuse admittance to 5 people who would not wear a mask or bandana. They expected me to argue with them, but frankly I didn't have the desire nor time. I simply stated that they couldn't enter and went about my business. They got the message and left. Little did they know that I prepared to have them arrested if they had not left. Yes, I had done my homework and was prepared. 

I have been asked if this was a wise thing to do, opening the market. It's a tough question to answer. It will only be in hindsight that I will be judged to be wise or foolish. But I took serious steps to ensure the safety of vendors and customers alike. The market looked to be far safer than any grocery store I've been in during the past month.

OKK Open Air Market

In the past 3 weeks, all my spare time has been devoted to a community service project. You see, I somehow got into the position of being made the market manager for our town's new "farmers market". By the way, since not all the vendors offer farm products, I'm calling this an open air market instead of farmers market, but it's basically the same thing.

The Ace Hardware, who previously allowed the market to set up on their grounds, withdrew the offer. Ace contacted the area's community service non-profit group, O'Ka'u Kakou (OKK for short), who decided to take the market. So the past several weeks has been a mad scramble to assign a manager, design the market, prepare the grounds, do the paperwork, make signs, etc. This turned out to be a lot of time and work. 

The end result made it all worth it. Opening day saw 28 vendors set up, more than the original market. The town's coffee truck was there. A local group provided music. Everyone told me that it felt like a festival and they loved it. 

There were a few glitches that were fixed as the day went on, and the first day revealed a few design flaws. Nothing serious. Just needs a bit of tweaking. 

Wanna try a cup of Ka'u coffee? 

The second day is rapidly approaching. 8 more vendors want to join the fun. I'm looking forward to day 2, and simply hope that it doesn't rain. If you're in the area, you really should stop by. You can enjoy browsing the booths...talking with craftsmen, farmers, artists...sampling the baked goods and lunch fare...getting a drink at the coffee truck. The market will be adding picnic tables, so please take a seat under the shade trees and enjoy the music. Maybe we can convince some more of our talented residents to come out and provide entertainment. Any interested jugglers, mimes, hula dancers, street actors, and others out there?

Numerous flavors of island honey. Free taste testing! 

One of our vegetables ladies. 

Jams made from local Ka'u fruits. 

Fresh baked breads, a local favorite. 

Local grown mushrooms. What a treat! 

What could be better than fresh squeezed orange juice from our own local oranges! 

Fresh Mexican food.

One of the local musicians. They were great! 

Halloween Friends - More Pics

Halloween , Among Friends

Halloween, that holiday that people think is for little kids. Ha! Secretly, us old foggies have more fun with this holiday than any other. Dinner parties. Dancing. Joke telling and good old conversation. Good potluck food. Good company. Better than a bag of treat & treat goodies. 

So here we are at Halloween on The Blog once again, where if you choose to continue, you'll endure my photos of our childlike participation in the holiday........

First of all, the table decorations. Presenting the "Odd Duck Mummy"...........

And her/his twin, the "Odd Duck Witch"....

And eye of an odd duck.....

A liquid filled ball with a floating eye. Yes, we're really, really odd. And easily amused. 

Plus the "Cast of thousands"....the Odd Ducks.........

Dog attack!

Community - Showing That You Care

Talking about graffiti, spray paint graffiti to be specific. Every once in a while, some individual takes it upon themselves to deface our community. Why, I have no idea. Anger? Frustration? Testosterone poisoning? Peer pressure? Who knows. One person here, out of 6000+ residents, struck the other day, painting the reflective markers on telephone poles, roadside guard rails, and electrical boxes. Ouch! 

Yes, ouch. It hurts to pass by and see the graffiti. It debases our community image and the "feel good" sensation of being here. This area is so incredibly beautiful, but some people don't seem to notice. It just takes one disturbed individual who has little respect for the aina, no respect for others living here, and no sense of community. 

But there are those in our community who care and are action oriented.....

I happened upon one caring individual removing the paint from the reflective markers. An incredible member of our community here. 

As for the power boxes, another person tackled that task. The first coat of paint hid most of the graffiti. Five minutes after this photo was taken, the second coat completed the job. 

I find it's amazing to live in a community where people take the effort to make it a good place to be. Not just those who clean up the graffiti mess, but we have people here who, on their own, clean up roadside litter that others thoughtlessly, uncaringly toss out their car windows. Other folks clean up the old cemetery here. Yet others help out seniors and housebound folks. Groups get organized to clean up trash from the coastlines and ponds. Many home gardeners share food with others, be they friends or strangers. It feel very good to be living among these wonderful people. 

I often wish I could package this sense of community cooperation and spread it around to other communities, because how wonderful would it be if more people could experience this type of community life! 

Halloween 2015

Halloween....it's great! Around here it brings out the community connection more so than any other holiday. The local library hosts a costume event, with every costumed child getting a chance to win a brand new e-reader. Schools hold parties. One of the local music bands staged an event in town, open free to everyone who wished to drop by. Music, pupus, dancing, just plain fun. Bowls of Halloween candy appeared in local businesses, inviting people to nibble. Children trick or treated through town. And dozens and dozens of Halloween themed parties took place throughout the district. Lots of community sharing going on. 

My own group of odd-duck friends once again celebrated friendship, shared a meal, and watched a movie.........guess what........Rocky Horror Picture Show, of course!

Heck, it's traditional after all. Us old foggies know all the lines, sing the songs, and shout out the audience participation lines. Ouch! Yes, we're that daffy. But you bet were enjoying the silliness. 

Daffy? For sure. Nothing like a bunch of 50,60,70,80 year olds in homemade costumes......

Zebra, with tail ....

Gypsy serving homemade pizza.....

Nurse with hand crocheted hat, pretty nifty......

Hippy tourist helping herself to the buffet.....

A pirate watching Rocky Horror......

And your guess is as good as mine. Perchance a nerd in lighted glasses? By the way, I think he's the only one in attendance who hasn't thought about applying to Medicare or Social Security yet. We'll let him slide for now. 

Columbia, from the movie.....

Yes, we said we would all come in costume. Ok, this one's a joker. Not a bad t-shirt, I have to admit....

Yup, this cowboy is packing REAL guns. Hey, don't mess with old people!

Dr. Livingston, I presume? 

Someone you definitely don't want to meet in a dark alley alone....

Tony The a Tiger attacking the zebra! 

So people, for once I'm going to ask the audience if they connect with friends and neighbors during Halloween. Or is my little corner of the world a prime venue for an odd ducks convention?