Back At It

It is a tradition for Tammy and I to spend the date of our anniversary together as much as is allowed by life schedules and this year was no exception.  She will likely pay for this since she has all kinds of things going on at school right now.  But, Thursday was an extremely nice day and Tammy requested some outdoor, farm time.  So, we made that happen.  (ok, ok.  There was going to be some outdoor farm time because we need to get things done anyway, but the order of things might have changed slightly to meet her request!)

Hauling the broadfork out to Valhalla

One of our tasks was unpacking and checking all of the seed orders that have arrived.  But, that didn't get us outside.  So, we gathered tools and moved on out to one of our high tunnels.  For those who may be new to what we do, we have two plastic covered hoop buildings that are commonly known in horticulture circles as "high tunnels."  We have named the older high tunnel "Eden."  Eden is the smaller of the two buildings (30'x72') and the Valhalla is the newer and larger building (30'x96').

Hiking turned out to be good preparation for broadfork work

We need to prepare the ground in the high tunnels for our early plantings and the first step is to use the two-handled broadfork.  This tool has sturdy 8 (or so) inch tines.  You step on the cross bar, push the tines into the ground and then rock the whole tool to loosen the soil.  The words do not adequately describe the workout you can get with this tool.  Our soil is dense enough that simply 'stepping' on the bar will not push the tines all the way in - so it ends up being more of a step on, march in place while balancing, step off procedure. 

I managed to get about a third of Valhalla worked up in a reasonable amount of time. I'm still a little bit off the pace I'd like to work at, but not far off.  On the other hand, I began to realize that I actually have the length of rows in Eden imprinted on my brain.  Every time I'd get to about 70 feet in a pass, I'd start looking around to see if I was by the end wall.  I don't know whether to consider this a good or bad thing at this point.

Barty got a chance to play today too!

We do have a propensity for naming things.  Oh, you noticed?  Good.  Get used to it.

Barty is our walk behind tractor with a nice tiller attachment.  After using the broadfork I brought Barty out to start making the seed beds.  We should be able to finish the project and get things in the ground by the end of the weekend!

While Rob was doing the bed prep, Tammy was pulling a little plant residue out of the North beds.  Then she spent time bringing materials out to Valhalla so she could start planting onions into our nice new red trays.

Step one, add drain holes.

We've used some white plastic trays the past couple of years and have found that they break up very quickly.  They're just not able to handle what we put them through.  So, Tammy did a little research and found these.  At the very least, we aren't going to lose track of them easily.

Well, that's a little less than half of them.

One the holes were drilled, Tammy got the water connected up in the high tunnel and she mixed some starting medium up for the onions.  She got five trays planted with the medium she brought out to the tunnel and then ran out.  Since the sun was starting to go down and we had chores and dinner to attend to, we figured it was enough for the time being.

What's this?  An "On Farm Farmer Selfie?"

Apparently, Tammy and I think we're pretty clever since we came up with our 'Farmer Selfie" thing on our recent trip.  I'm sure once the novelty of these things...or the novelty of this year's growing season catches up to us, this will die down.  But, for now, we prefer to think we are still rather clever and we will share a farmer selfie when the mood and opportunity meet up.

Walking Picture Tour Part II

And, our final installment for the Kauai trip is now here.  We will return you to your regularly scheduled farm blog after this.  I suppose we may be inspired to do more on this in the future - never say never.  But,  it feels like this is a good stopping point for the moment.  After all, we realize that the pictures will mean more to us than to you because we were there and it includes our 'adventures.'  There is fun in the sharing - as long as you don't wear out your welcome!

Kalalau Sunset
We were lucky to see another sunset from the Kalalau Lookout.  There is a neat phenomenon where the trees on the hills to the West of the lookout turn gold as the sun sets.  I haven't taken the time to identify the very best picture of this, so you'll just have to settle for this one.

Sunset to the West (imagine that!) of the Kalalau Lookout

During Winter months, things aren't always clear enough to experience a good sunset from this spot.  And, in fact, there may have been only one evening that was clear enough while we were there during this trip and we made sure we caught it.  What amazes me most about the Kalalau Lookout is how calm the wind has been each time we've been up there.  I'm sure there must be days or nights when the wind howls, but we sure haven't experienced it.

The Return to the Edge of the World (Waipo'o Falls)
One of the goals I held for myself was to hike the trail to Waipo'o Falls again.  Last time was quite the traumatic experience for me in particular.  Why?  Well, I am not particularly fond of heights and I can say that once you get on top of this ridge, it sure seems like you could very easily take a tumble for a LONG way down.  With Tammy's help, I managed it last time - there's something about conquering one's fear that makes you want to show that it wasn't a fluke.  So, we did it again.  And, it was easier this time around.  Although I did stay further from the edge than many people.

Tammy surveys the Edge of the World

And, once again, we went to the top of the first drop of the 800 foot Waipo'o Falls.  This time around, there was a good deal more water in the stream, so we did not cross it.  I suppose it could have been done, but we weren't in the mood for walking a couple miles in wet boots on the return trip.

The top of Waipo'o Falls

Makaha Ridge Road
Each time we would drive by the intersection for this road, Tammy would say that we should drive down it sometime.  So, on our last day at Koke'e State Park, we did just that.

And, we were rewarded.

There are a significant number of hunters on Kauai that work to control the wild pig populations.  Not only are these piggies used for food, but controlling them is necessary in order to prevent them from tearing up the ground and significantly increasing the erosion and harming native plant populations.  The pigs were introduced by humans (of course).  The reason I tell you this is because this road (and most others) have trails that are primarily used by hunters and are also hiked by people like us once in a while.  We found a short trail at the end of the road that took us to this viewpoint.  Makaha Ridge juts out towards the ocean.  I'd share one of the pictures that had the ocean in it, but it just doesn't show up as well as I'd like, so we'll go with this one.

Power Line Trail
Once we moved to the North side of the island, we worked to explore new things (to us).  One of our hikes was on the Power Line Trail (so called because it was created for maintenance/construction of the power lines from the North to the South side of the island through the interior).

Not a bad looking waterfall!

The hike was a bit less strenuous than some of the ones we'd taken thus far.  But, we'll admit we stopped a bit earlier than we thought we would because the trail was covered by water.  I suppose we could have slogged through it, but it would only remind me of days I have to work in mud on the farm.  So, maybe not.

The Christmas Tree of the Powerline Trail

We found this little tree next to the trail that had been decorated for Christmas.  It looks like a Norfolk Pine and is surely related to them.  We found it amusing enough to take a picture of it.

And, we were able to get a decent picture of the mountains to the West of the Powerline Trail.  It was always interesting to watch clouds gather on the North face. 

Kalalau Trail and the Napali Coast
We got up early to avoid the normal crowds that hike the first segment of the Kalalau trail to Hanakapi'ai Beach.  We succeeded in avoiding most of the other hikers by doing this, but we also dealt with more overcast/cloudy conditions than we've seen at other times. 

Sun hitting the top of a ridge on the Napali Coast

The brilliance of the colors really shows when the sun comes out.  They are muted somewhat when it is cloudy/foggy.  But, the whole thing is beautiful regardless of the amount of sun.

The different colors in the water always amaze us.

This trail is rated as being appropriate for a "Hardy Family," which is a notch less difficult than the "Strenuous" trails like Nu'alolo, which we hiked earlier.  But, frankly, I find this trail to be more difficult because of all of the rocks on the trail that like to try to roll my ankles. 

Well, not THESE rocks specifically

And, like most trails on Kauai, there were ups and downs to it.

How about rocks AND ups and downs?

Kilauea Lighthouse
The lighthouse itself was closed for work to shore up the paths to the lighthouse.  Erosion is doing its work on Kauai.  It's just the way things are. 

So, we went to an overlook that let us look towards the lighthouse instead

The point of visiting was the hope that we would see some whales.  No whales this time around (though others reported seeing them earlier in the day).  So, that was a small disappointment.  But, it was still a beautiful viewpoint and we got to see the Red Footed Boobys that were nesting in the area around the lighthouse.  If you look carefully at this picture, you'll notice the different colors of blue in the water AND the sky. 

Inini Beach
We alternated hiking with trips to various beaches on Kauai.  We did enjoy Kekeha Beach on the Southwest side.  There were big waves and lots of sun and sand there with mostly locals enjoying the surf.  Salt Ponds was a decent place to visit on the South side as well, we could explore some of the little fishy creatures that were in the rocks there.  But, we really enjoyed Inini.

Another farmer selfie?!?

Technically, the water near the beach is a lagoon that is protected by a reef further out.  It was strange how calm the water was near the beach.  Yet, we could still see huge waves breaking on the reef that was about 1500 feet out.  And Rob took great pleasure in disturbing a poor little crab that could rapidly cover itself in the sand.  Ok, he didn't disturb it THAT much.  Just a little.  All in the interest of science.  Or, something.

A Last Hike: Kuilau/Moalepe Trails
On our last full day on the island, we took one more hike.  I'm not sure how to describe the decision making process for us to go on this hike.  Suffice it to say that we started this trip by making sure to space out our hiking trips to allow time for recovery.  After all, this was a vacation, not a boot camp.  Most of our hikes were 4 to 5 hour hikes and some were fairly strenuous.  Since it is Winter, our conditioning isn't what it might be in the Summer.  That, and we don't do so much of the up and down stuff in Iowa for some reason.

Viewpoint towards the Makaleha Mountain range

We'd hiked on Kalalau Trail the day before and Powerline the day prior to that.  So, mentally, we were thinking there wouldn't be a long hike on this day.  But, we looked at the map in a region of Kauai we really hadn't explored much and decided the rating for this trail made it sound pretty easy.

The trees on Kuilau were friendly.

And, for the most part, it was easy, compared to most of the other trails.  There was still a climb (maybe 500 feet or so?).  But, the trail was wider than many and it wasn't covered in rocks.  There were even places we could walk without watching our feet.  That's actually the biggest danger for most of the Kauai hikes.  There is so much cool stuff to look at, you want to keep your head up.  If you keep your head up, you end up tripping on things.  So, it's much safer to walk with your head down and stop as often as you wish to get a good look around.  That does not mean that each of us didn't fall prey to the rubbernecking and then tripping issue on this trail at least once.

We both had a great time on this trip.  Of course, part of it was the location.  But, the biggest thing was the fact that Tammy and I could relax a little and spend quality time together.  Thanks for a great 25th Anniversary trip T!

Aloha Kauai! and Mahalo.

An Appreciation for Different

We won't do too many more blog posts on our trip to Kauai, so hang in there - the farm focus will come back very soon.  But, for now, we bring you this.

One of the things farming has done for both of us is increase our awareness for the natural things that surround us.  This time around, we tried to record a few more of the things we observed with the camera.  Some with good success and some with ... um.. less success.  If you wish to view any of these in larger format, just select the picture and a larger version will pop up for you.

We took notice of more birds this time around.  One of these birds had a really great call that I wish I could describe.  Maybe one day I'll find a recording of it so I can share.  It's a cute little thing... and it's green, so it blends in well.

Can you find the little green bird in this picture?

We also had a good time finding flowers and taking pictures of them.

Ohi'a Lehua

And we found that fog/clouds can really highlight things differently and give you a whole new perspective on what you are seeing.

Yep, it really was THAT steep,.

We also got lucky and saw a fogbow.  It wasn't really a rainbow and it didn't show the colors as strongly as a rainbow might.  But, it was fun to see.  For a short time, it was a double fogbow.  Cool.

Today's new word is FOGBOW...yes, I created the word.  Neat, huh?

We stopped places that weren't exactly marked as an overlook or scenic spot.  This little waterfall was just off the road on the way up to Koke'e State Park.  We've seen it before and finally managed to get to it with some good light.  I'm not sure I picked the best photo we took of it, but it gets you the idea.

Note the red dirt.

And the day was bright and the sun was starting to go down.  And, the farmer got an idea.

A "Farmer Selfie!" perfect for introverts!

We also couldn't help but notice some of the signs on our hike.  If you read the signs you might wonder what possessed us to take this trail anyway.  If it helps, this was the second time we had taken this particular hike.  Ok, maybe it only helps you to revise your opinion of us, whatever that might have been to start with and whatever it might change to... We really can't say.

Remember.  Don't Cliff Dive!

We took the signs seriously. 

See?!?

But, the reality is that hikes in Kauai are typically a bit rougher than what we might be used to in Iowa. It's not too hard to turn an ankle or wrench a knee on these trails.  And, they can be dangerous if you aren't paying attention and listening to yourself when the internal alarms go off.

We also learned that they grow nasturtiums REALLY BIG in Kauai.  Something about being perennial versus annual plants on the island... among other things.  We grow nasturtiums as a companion with some of our vine crops but we shudder to think what might happen if the nasturtiums we grow got to look like.....

THIS!

And we got to see some wild orchids during a couple of our hikes. 

And we got to watch waves.  Just don't ask how many pictures Rob took to try and catch just ONE of them with the curl this one has.

Oh, did I mention that we saw a number of birds?  And, we have no idea what this bird is.

Does anyone out there know?

On the other hand, we know what this bird is.  Why?  Because there was a sign there.  And because there were people there who told us.  And... well.  I guess I have no other reasons why.

Look!  A Red-Footed Booby.  No, really.  It has a blue beak.

And, for your next "Where's Waldo" experience on this blog.  We did experience seeing Geckos and other lizards like this one.

Yes, I think you bipeds are very silly and quite unstable.

Then, suddenly, on our last hike of our trip, we got the feeling that we had entered the pages of a Dr. Seuss story.  Again, we don't know what these plants are, but they certainly got our attention.

Inspirations for the Lorax?

We hope you enjoyed the pictures and the observations as much as we enjoyed bringing them to you!

Walking Picture Tour

Tammy and I invested in a trip to one of our favorite places (Kauai) to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  The trip was a great time for us to just spend time together and put aside the daily worries and concerns that sometimes prevent us from appreciating our life as partners.

While this is not necessarily a "farm thing," it does have something to do with the farmers.  We've been farming now for enough years that everything we do is still tinged a bit with the farm.  We hope that everyone who reads this blog and looks at the pictures will enjoy them and take them in the spirit the sharing is intended.

Wailua Falls
Tammy and I tend to avoid "touristy" things most of the time, though we do recognize that the definition for touristy is changing since the internet gives all of us more resources to hunt for and locate less common locations.  Wailua Falls, assuming you take the back road that ends in a small parking area, kind of fits into the touristy side of things.  People drive their rental cars up to the lookout, stand behind a railing, take a few pictures and then drive back down the road.  The falls are beautiful of course, but getting a really good shot from the standard viewpoint is pretty difficult.

The two of us enjoyed the drive up as much as anything because it goes through some rural/ag area.  We made sure to stop at a local stand and purchase our first Kauai fruit of the trip.  We had a swallowtail butterfly decide we were pretty cool, but we couldn't get it to slow down enough to take a photo of it.

We really took the road up on a whim more than anything and we made sure to stay and enjoy the falls for longer than most people allow themselves to do.  We're always a little shocked how people will get out of their cars, stand for two minutes, take a few pictures and then climb back into their cars.  It's almost as if a large portion of the visitors think it is a huge treasure hunt - but they forget to appreciate the treasure while they're there.

As we watched the falls (and the butterfly), we noticed our blood pressure dropping and we started talking about things other than the farm and school.  A good part of the reason for going in the first place.


Pu'u Hinahina Lookout of the Waimea Canyon
Our first day was spent locating a farmers market and acquiring supplies for our stay in Koke'e State Park.  Our goal was to get to the cabin before dark since the drive is a typical windy road up a mountain.  Since Waimea Canyon is probably our favorite spot on the island, we couldn't help but stop and take a peak at the Pu'u Hinahina lookout.  The sun was starting to go down and we wanted to see how it highlighted the East canyon walls.

The picture above is a familiar one to us.  The last time we were in Kauai, we took a hike to Waipo'o Falls that was a bit on the 'scary' side (the link takes you to our adventure a few years ago, it's a fun read).  We realized this time that we could actually use the long lens and record some of the view we had at Waipo'o from this lookout.  We're both captivated by the arch in this picture.  No reason why.

We spent the first part of the trip in a cabin up in Koke'e State Park.  The cabin is on the rustic side, which is fine for us.  Temps got down into the 40's a couple of nights, which maybe was a bit less fine, but we dealt with it ok.  The real advantage was the proximity to some of our favorite views and some of the trails we wanted to take.

Waimea Canyon Lookout
The main lookout for Waimea Canyon is heavily trafficked by tourists, so we made sure to get up and get there before larger numbers of people would arrive.  The shadows really displayed the texture of the canyon.  If it weren't for a little bit of overcast, these pictures would be outstanding.  But, we'll settle for just pretty good.  We ended up viewing the canyon several times while we were up on the mountain, so we could catch it with sun at different angles, or with clouds.  Let me correct what I said earlier about Waimea Canyon.  It isn't just one of our favorite spots on the island, it is one of our favorite places in the world.

Waipo'o Falls
The Waipo'o Falls are about 800 feet tall and can often be overlooked by persons who only go to the main overlook.  There are a couple of pull-outs further up the road that give a better view.  If you look at the picture above, you CAN see the falls.  It did amuse us to hear people as they tried to figure out if they were seeing a waterfall or not.

We did take the hike to Waipo'o again during this visit.  If you look at the rounded rock to the left and up from the falls, you can see where we hiked to get there.  In fact, we encourage you again to take this link to the story about our hike a few years ago.  Check out the falls in that picture there - there was MUCH MORE water in it this time around.

We've got ALOT of pictures of the falls now and we just need to figure out which ones are keepers.

Pu'u O Kilo Lookout of the Kalalau Valley in Koke'e Park
We also thoroughly enjoy looking into the Kalalau Valley from the two overlooks.  Once again, by staying in the park for a while, we could pick and choose times and be patient as the weather changed.  It's Late Winter/Early Spring on the island and clouds/rain were to be expected.  We managed to get a nice sunny morning and caught some cool shadows from the Pu'u O Kilo lookout.  Since we had a different trail in mind this time, we decided not to walk the Pihea Trail, which starts at this lookout.

While it is nice to get a big picture of the entire scene, I've been enjoying trying to locate a subsection of the whole picture and try to capture the texture and color.  Both Tammy and I thought the one above turned out well.

The other thing you need to know about Kauai is this: The colors are brilliant.  These photos were not taken with a filter, nor have they been "photoshopped."   If anything, they may not quite have captured how electric the colors were at times.

Nu'ololo Trail in Koke'e
This trail was a very good challenge for us.  It had rained, so there was mud and Tammy took a bit of a slide early on.  No harm, no foul - just red dirt on the pants.  This trail goes up a few hundred feet right away, so we got our cardio workout.  Then, we went down 1400-1500 feet in altitude for the rest of the hike.  Which means - yes - we had to go back up on the return.  We REALLY felt this hike afterward.

Sadly, this is what we got when we reached the overlook portion of the hike.  We certainly do not regret taking the hike at all, it's just too bad we didn't get the end of trail reward that we'd read about.  We may have to go back and try it again? 

Kalalau Overlook on a cloudy day
It would be easy to let yourself be disappointed if you go to some of these places hoping to see the beautiful views and you find clouds.  But, in our case, it simply allowed us to see the beauty of these places in different clothing.  This was part of the advantage of staying in the park, we could experience the area more fully.

The picture above is probably one of our favorites for the trip.  We caught sun, color and clouds all in one try.

And, if you scroll up to the sunny day picture from Pu'u O Kila, you can see what this ridge looks like in the sun.  We both like this one because I was able to catch the clouds framing the ridge.  The trees give the whole things some balance and perspective that I like.  We were able to stay up there and watch the clouds move off (most of the way) and then come back in. If you would like to see what this area looks like in a brilliantly sunny day, a picture from our previous trip opens up this post.

Deep Breath

Every so often there is a need to take a deep breath.  A very deep breath. 

Tammy and I have been lucky enough to have opportunities to take some time off now and again.  But, this time around, we've arranged to take some time just for the two of us.  It wasn't until we arrived at our destination that we began to understand exactly how much we needed to take some time and release some of the stresses that are placed on us.  Some of them internal, some of them external - but all of them as real as we make them.  And, it turns out that maybe we were making them too real.

One of the things we enjoy doing is taking pictures and trying to be creative in the process.  We thought we'd share a few.  If you already know where we went, don't spoil it for others.  But, if you don't know, but want to guess, put a comment in with where you think these photos come from.

Per the norm, we like to start with some potential misdirection.  This picture could be a part of a larger photo that many other people who visit this place might take.  Of course, Rob had to focus on one part of it because he liked the shadowplay.

And how can you NOT like a droplet picture?  Ok, maybe you can't, but we like it.  I suppose there is some clue as to where we are based on this picture alone.

Dew on a spider's web?  We love spiders, as long as they aren't crawling on the back of our necks.  This little one was just fine where she was.