Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! I know it's a few days ago already, but I'm on Hawai'i time, so chill.

I spent mine with my new friends, and in a way my new family, on the farm. Robert, the owner of the property, woke up in the morning and discovered that it was Thanksgiving while he was perusing the internet. It was good that he did, because I don't think anyone had any plans for dinner. He went and bought all kinds of food for everyone, and two of my house mates (kind of, but not exactly 'cause I live in a tent outside) stepped up at the last minute to prepare the feast. And since there is so little room in the two small refrigerators we all share, there was a great excuse to stuff ourselves - there was nowhere to put any leftovers!

Before din din, I spent some time exploring the farm, taking pictures like I work for National Geographic. I borrowed a few books about the coastal flowers and plants of Hawaii, so I schooled myself as I wandered around identifying all of the wildlife that surrounds me there. These chickens in the above photo roam the farm - and really drive me out of my mind sometimes, but mostly they're hilariously entertaining. They're afraid of everything. I don't love the fact that they squawk at the crack of dawn, but at least they're a completely female population and I don't have to deal with hearing a rooster crow. Besides, I have earplugs if I need them.

The farm I live on isn't the kind of farm that comes to mind if you're used to the pastoral expanses of New Jersey, PA and the rest of the East US. Here, Robert grows Monarch Butterflies - to sell for weddings and other special events. All of the work I do has been straightforward gardening, like hoeing rocks out of piles of dirt or removing branches and logs from overgrown grass.

This caterpillar is only a few days away from curling up on the underside of a leaf and wrapping itself in a cocoon. The butterfly here came out of his shell just hours before this picture was taken. He's slowly filling his wings with fluid to give them rigidity, and then he'll fly off, but not too far. It's Maui. There isn't anywhere else a butterfly would rather be.

There are several really colorful flowers and plants everywhere on the island, and some of them incidentally grow on the farm. This explosive orange and purple flower is called a Bird of Paradise. They're all over the place. The other is a bush of ginger, which is really all over the place.

It feels good to familiarize myself with the earth around me - the geographical history, the catalogs of plants and animals and insects, and the traditions and history of the people of this place. These are all things I always overlooked in my former life, too busy or too distracted to really care. I'm thankful that I have time now, and fewer distractions, to be more in touch, to be more aware. Many blessings.