Best Day Ever

Last weekend, Dylan and I finally made it to Volcano National Park at the bottom tip of the big Island. This trip has been on our Hawaii to-do list since before we arrived but we saved it until the very end, although in retrospect I wish we had visited sooner so we could have gone back many more times to further explore. Though we had an amazing day hiking around the Crater Rim Trail, there was so much to see and so many trails we would have loved to explore, including at the Bird Park, which we planned to visit but got rained out before we even had the chance to step out of the car. Oh well.


We arrived at the park around 9am after coffee and pastries and a 1 1/2 hour drive and our first stop was the volcano caldera. This view of the caldera was a ways up from the hike we chose so we drove up and hopped out for a look and a brief walk around the one-room art museum displaying various artist's depictions of the volcano, most notably of Pele, a goddess whose visage is the body of the volcano with the black lava as her hair. The images were beautiful inside and out of the museum and I fell particularly in love with this stunning red volcanic flower found all over the park.

After viewing the massive, steaming caldera we ditched the truck back at the visitor's center and headed out to the Crater rim trail, a 5-6 mile hike that took us through vivid green rainforest flora right down into the middle of a dried lava lake and back up again. It was a fantastic hike with constantly (and quite drastically) changing scenery, temperatures, and species of plant. Luckily, the sun's powerful heat was hidden behind the clouds for most of the day, which is probably quite common at a rainforest park with a continuously smoking volcano. Just a few minutes after we stepped onto the trail we found ourselves in the middle of a magical forest path and I imagined my seven-year-old self frolicking beneath the cover of trees pretending to be a forest nymph. I was immediately transported to the woods of my childhood in southern Vermont which back then felt just as magical as when we happened upon this patch of the trail at Volcano. The day was off to a wonderful start and I could never have guessed just how much more amazing it would get as we continued.

The descent down into the dried lava lake was a piece of cake and Dylan and I chatted about the trees and birds, and how much we love hiking but never seem to get ourselves out to the trails quite enough. Every so often we would come across a sign post identifying the different trees around us, using both the English and Hawaiian names along with a few facts about the plants that made up this particular ecosystem. Finally I was able to put names to some of the species with which we've shared this island for the past four months. I love identifying the flora and fauna of a place and thus far on our trip I have found myself regularly frustrated with my inability to find the resources to help me name the plants and animals we have encountered. I just can't believe there aren't more websites devoted to simply listing the living things of the world with their corresponding images. What happened to our country's love of place? I know I am not the only one who is curious about my surroundings so come out of the wood works all you secret naturalists out there, the internet needs your knowledge!

Anyway, once we reached the floor of the crater we stepped out out of the lush green forest onto black waves of dried lava with only the occasional Ohia Lehua tree, whose delicate red flowers captivated me with their stark contrast against the black lava and glossy green leaves. It is amazing that anything at all can thrive in such a harsh habitat as this, let along do so with such rich beauty.

Down in the lava lake, a 400 ft. descent from the trail in cliff-like fashion, we traipsed across the black crater floor while steam crept out all around us in hot clouds from the vented cracks in the earth leading to the magma deep beneath the surface. Standing over the vents I felt the heat wash over me in clean and refreshing waves, like stepping in and out of a steam room. Down in this black crater completely exposed to the elements I thanked the volcano for clouding out the sun and was happy for the occasional sprinkling of rain. Despite its empty bleakness, we found ourselves fascinated with the crater while at the same time becoming increasingly aware of the power that lay dormant beneath us.

After trekking across the vast black stone lake, which dried with ripples intact, we made our ascent back up to the crater's rim. It was hot and steep but 400 feet past by quickly as we once again found ourselves in awe of the lushness of the rainforest so close to the deep, steaming, empty crater. When we reached the top we found ourselves suddenly and strangely standing in a parking lot filled with rental cars and tour buses. After such dense natural landscape it was bizarre to be thrown back into civilization so abruptly. We snagged ourselves a seat along the path to an old lava tube where we stopped to refill our water bottles and eat the lunch we had packed before we left. We ate our avocado halves, granola bars, and coconut-date bites and watched the herds of tourists pass by in all sorts of outfits unfit for the many trails the park has to offer, glad we had come prepared with our hiking gear. Before heading back to the main trail leading us to the truck, we ventured down below to check out the lava tube, which was pretty neat when you think about the lava that once flowed through, but mostly just looked like your average cave.

Crater Rim is definitely an apt name for this looping trail because we really did walk right along the rim, just a few feet from the 400 ft. cliff drops. It was incredible to look down and see the tops of trees lining the crater before giving way to rippling blackness. We looked down on the vast emptiness below at the tiny ant people crossing the crater floor just as we had done a short while earlier. The views were breath-taking and we couldn't help but stop and admire the landscape with each opening of the trees. Dylan held his breath (and the back of my pack) as I leaned against the railing time and again to catch a glimpse of the steam and rocks below. I just couldn't get enough of the magic this place had to offer at every turn in the trail.

After being rained out of our hike at the bird park, we decided to head back toward home since the weather showed no signs of changing any time soon. Though I was very much looking forward to the bird park, Dylan even bought me a pocket Hawaiian bird guide, I was quickly consoled by the memory of a sign we past in the morning for a black sand beach that we previously didn't think we'd have time to hit before dark. As we began our descent from the 4500ft elevation of the park to the beach, we happened upon a beautiful coffee farm with a majestic monkeypod tree right smack in the middle. For months I've been dying to snag a picture of this beautiful tree so finding one surrounded by coffee plants was very exciting. If only I could have hopped out of the truck and climbed up the branches of the tree that will forever be synonymous with the Big Island of Hawaii for me. I doubt the owners of the coffee farm would have been amused.

So we pressed on and as we neared sea level the clouds stayed behind and the rain ceased to fall, though the cloud cover remained intact. Had we been heading to any other beach I might have been disappointed not to be greeted by the sun, but Punalu'u Beach is lined with fine black sand and lava rocks, not something I'd want to explore at 3pm after the sun's been out all morning. As it was, the cool and salty ocean air was a perfect way to end out hike and the black sands were unlike anything I'd ever seen.

We walked around the beach for a while, admiring the startling contrast of black against the vibrant blues and greens all around us. This beach (on a cool day only) quickly became one of my most favorite spots on the island, for more reasons than one. After getting our fill of the black sand beneath our feet we headed out across the lava rocks in search of nothing in particular and found ourselves captivated by the blue, blue waves crashing all around us. As we stood together breathing in the ocean air, Dylan pulled out a gorgeous pearl ring from his pocket and asked me if I would marry him.

Naturally, I said yes and there we stood looking out at the waves continuing to crash against the rocks as they always have and yet suddenly we were different. I bounced up and down for a while, beaming with excitement and neither of us could stop smiling or hugging each other as the waves continued to lash against the lava. We looked out at the ocean, back at the beach, and up at the volcano behind us reveled in a moment that will be with us forever. I still can't believe that we are here, let alone that we are already preparing to return from this magnificent place in only a few days time.

Wednesday's potluck featured the theme "breakfast for dinner," or as we like to call it, "brinner," and in honor of our engagement our friends at the farm offered a lilikoi (passion fruit) mimosa toast, my favorite. We celebrated together with Dylan's fried chicken and waffles drizzled with Vermont maple syrup sent from our family in the Green Mountains. Jodi tried out a recipe for bacon and egg birds' nests, which were of course delicious along with Brenna's purple sweet potato hash browns and Heather's farm fruit salad of mango & papaya with lime. It was a lovely celebration indeed.

Catching Up

I have been slacking a bit keeping you all updated on our adventures here, and for that, I apologize. I have been so consumed with curriculum development and working on my other blog, Searching for Sparks, that I've neglected this one. So here are a few random photos to fill you in, I hope you enjoy!

Dylan made eggplant parm, it was beautiful. Recently, Dylan has had the opportunity to make food as part of his work-trade to help stock the farm freezer. In addition to the parm, he jarred a few batches of radish relish with the last of the crop along with some beet and pepper pickles.

I went to an essential oils workshop at the most beautiful farm overlooking the ocean and Kealakekua Bay. I finally learned a bit about the many uses of essential oils, which ones are good for what, and when/where their use is most effective. I have been curious about this stuff for a while so it was great to listen to someone who is knowledgeable and well practiced with the use of oils for health purposes. Once we lift ourselves from self-imposed financial hibernation I am investing in these five oils from DoTerra. This stuff is super amazing, I would definitely recommend doing a little research about what oils can do.

Check out the sunset we caught after trying out a perfect blend of peppermint and orange oils...

The Plumeria trees came into bloom and they are so beautiful and smell amazing, apparently their sap is pretty poisonus though and can make you go blind? I'm not quite sure of the details. I still love them though, and I am glad I they are part of my everyday life, for the next week anyway...

Recently, I discovered a flower that smells like a chocolate-vanilla twisted soft-serve. I have made a point to have a vase of of them on the table at all times. I wish they were edible, they smell so good.

I made friends with a baby gecko who enjoys eating the mosquitoes that keep trying to bite me as I work at my computer. I love the geckos, they are so fun to watch and they keep the bug population down. I wish I could bring one back to Vermont with us but alas, they would not enjoy the cold.

A lizard-gecko showdown happened on the fence enclosing our outdoor shower and I was lucky enough to watch the drama unfold. This particular gecko is a good friend of ours named Scar-face gecko because of a little scar above his eye. When Dylan and Daniel were putting up the new roof on the cabin after our last one ripped during a particularly windy evening, Scar-face gecko got spooked when Dylan lay the roofing down next to him and he shed his tail and ran. That's what geckos do when they fear for their lives, leave their tails wiggling behind them and run away to start growing their new one. It takes at least a month for the tail to fully grow back and we have dubbed them "stumpy" when they are in the process of regeneration. Geckos are seriously cool little reptiles.

I have successfully gotten myself in the habit of making a weekly batch of sandwich wraps. I have always wanted to incorporate regular bread-making into my routine but have always had excuses for not doing it. All it took was a little creativity and motivation and even without the use of an oven I managed to organically sneak these bread-like sandwich features into our lives. This batch helped us get rid of a jar of arugula pesto that was a bit too bitter on it's own but made for perfect, tasty wraps.

The Chinese cabbages all reached their peak at the very same moment, which led to a massive production of Kimchi, 3 gallons in total. We have been eating this fermented, and super-healthy condiment with fried rice, scrambled eggs, and our Hawaiian twist on our favorite Asian soup, Pho.

All that Kimchi led us to select Bibimbap as the theme for one of our recent and delicious Wednesday farm potluck dinner. We filled our plates and bellies with a selection of goodies including, fried farm eggs, Kimchi, Bulgogi style beef strips, leek coleslaw (Dylan's creation), brown rice, bean sprouts, matchstick carrots, sauteed shitakes, zucchini strips, and chili-soy date sauce (also Dylan's creation, and so, so good). It was so savory, with a perfect of sweet tanginess.

We've been trying to get ourselves to the beach as much as possible in our final days here and a week or two ago we were introduced to a great spot for diving into the ocean. The water is perfect and we had so much fun diving off the rocks into the enclosed pool of water tucked away among the lava rock ledges. I will never get over the captivatingly blue color of the ocean here...

This is the backdrop we enjoyed as we took turns jumping and diving off the rocks with the local kids until the sun dropped too low to keep swimming, showering us with a beautiful sunset to make peace:

Hawaii is such a beautiful place. I still can't believe this is the place we've been calling "home" these past few months. It will be hard to say goodbye to this place next week. At the same time though, it's really exciting to think that in just a week we will get to hug so many friends and family again and that makes leaving a whole lot easier... stay tuned for photos and stories of our trip to see Volcano National Park which I plan on posting as soon as I narrow it down to the best pictures of the bunch!

Duck Curry

K loves papayas

From the very beginning of our arrival on the farm, there has been talk of harvesting the big male duck, the only duck in the chicken coop until a former feathered friend flew back home after having been sold to another farm a year or so back. Each week it seems the idea of harvesting the duck has come up, but until last week, no definitive plans had been made. Then for no particular reason, we all agreed it was time. In order to stick with the plan, we based the upcoming potluck theme around the duck to ensure the harvest would happen. Since he is a free-range duck and a little older than typical harvest age, we decided that duck curry would be a wiser option than another roast duck, which we are told was a big disappointment the last time since the meat just wasn’t as fatty or plentiful as ducks professionally raised as meat birds.

Come harvest day, my role was to hang out with little K whom we all agreed was not quite old enough to benefit from being either witness or participant. She is a tough cookie and could likely have handled it, but I’m not sure she’s at the point where we could have had a productive conversation about what was happening and why. There’s always next time, K. We had plenty of fun doing our own harvesting as we searched the farm for a ripe papaya to eat, saving the seeds to plant later on. Anyway, since I saw nothing of the harvest save for the meat brining in salt water in our fridge, I left it to Dylan to fill you in on the experience. Here is what he had to say:

Sasha and her little duckling hunting for bugs to munch

This time of year in Hawaii the clouds tend to roll down the volcano in the afternoon. You can look up the hill and see rain somewhere else, and the threat is there all day. Most of the time it is a welcome relief that never comes to fruition. It almost always breaks for sunset. Yesterday it was raining lightly when I went to go feed the chickens. Sasha (the lady duck) and her new duckling were standing in the rain, under the basketball hoop. They say that baby ducks don’t do well to get wet, but they didn’t seem to mind.

           

When the chickens see me coming they parade down the fence to greet me. I take my time scooping out some feed, shaking it around in the pan to taunt them. Sometimes the girls try to hop the fence and are quickly reminded that they are terrible aviators. Opening the gate, I throw some feed in the coop and they all file in to be locked away for the night. The male duck stays outside, quacking at me the whole time until I give him some food. Yesterday he thanked me by taking a wet shit right next to my foot. I told him to enjoy his last meal.

 

Farewell Therapist, thank you for providing us dinner.

They call the male duck Therapist. If you are not a fan of clever wordplay or the mating habits of ducks, take some time on Wiki to familiarize yourself. Suffice it say, consensual is not part of the duck vocabulary. He is a terror, or as much as he can be with his short legs and lack of arms. Since I have been feeding him the last few months, I felt that I had been complicit in his rampant duckery. I owed it to these girls to end it.

We set up a ladder in front of the garage with some cardboard underneath it. Some twine is hung down from the top and the tree stump that we use to crack coconuts was placed in front. The whole thing resembled some kind of altar. We sharpened the machete and headed over to the pen. Ducks are smarter than they look, and therapist seemed to know that we had ulterior motives. He was skittish and hard to catch, but a shot from the pellet gun right behind the eye alleviated this problem. We carried him, still a bit alive, to the garage and the duck guillotine. While the blood drained into a bucket, we brought out a large pot of boiling water. Dip the bird in for 30 seconds, then tie him up by his feet and pull all the feathers out. They come out easily. After that I made a cut around his backside into which I could insert my hand. I worked blindly around the cavity to separate the warm organs from the bones, and pulled the whole thing out in one handful. Liver and heart are saved; everything else goes in the compost with the feathers. Rinse off the blood and you got yourself a meal.

Dylan's Duck Curry in homemade Red Thai Chili sauce, so tasty and farm fresh

I must admit that I was hesitant about the whole process, but not because of the murder part. My disdain for Therapist was real and I have no moral objection to being omnivorous. I was afraid that if the whole process made me squeamish I would have to stop eating meat. Hypocrisy is the worst of human faults for me, and if I could not do myself what others often do for me I would have to stop eating meat. I like meat.

No worries! I’ll have to work my way up to bigger animals, but any guilt I may have had about harvesting Therapist faded fast. I used every little part of that duck, with only the head going to waste. When you are wrist deep in a still warm duck, the moral implications of eating meat get pushed aside. We need people who are willing to slaughter, and really I think everyone should do it at least once in their lives.

Sweet mango sticky rice for dessert, another dish to add to my favorite list.

...So I bet you are wondering how the duck tasted, huh? I must admit that seeing the body of a duck we fed every day brining in the refrigerator was a bit off-putting and at first I was unsure I would be able to take part in his consumption. Having been a vegetarian for 16 years I wasn’t surprised at how contemplative I was about eating duck for dinner when the potluck finally arrived. I didn’t expect it to be an easy decision. Thankfully, Dylan was in charge of preparing the duck and he understood how I was feeling and agreed to chop the duck rather than roast it whole, which is how we ended up with the red Thai curry that set the theme for our dinner. Though our potlucks are always fantastic, this one came together so beautifully. Everyone’s dish was inspired by our curry and we ended up with green papaya salad to start and ginger chicken to snack on, with mango sticky rice for dessert. Once we had all filled our plates, we had a brief moment of thanks to Therapist for feeding us, and we all dug in. Each dish complemented the others and I am happy to say that the curry was a huge hit and the perfect way to celebrate the harvest. We ended the evening with fully bellies and happy hearts, thankful for the beautiful feast that crazy duck provided for us. His was not a wasted or unappreciated life, and now that duck lives on in his tiny offspring whom we all welcome to life here on the farm.