Back in the Garden

Things worked out such that I had a free day and though it was across the island I knew that I wanted to go back to work in the Allerton garden. During my winter stay on the island, or everything I did, volunteering to work alongside the garden staff became part of my routine (I settled into working Monday, Wednesday, Friday in the gardens) and was perhaps the most rewarding of all the things I did.

Today I showed up for work and was greeted warmly by the whole staff and it felt just like going back to where I belong. To be clear, as much as I like this work, for now at least, I won't be working as much as before - I'm working on getting set up permanently and want to explore a number of new prospects. However, when I do settle into a routine I can easily see a day or two a week working here as a fixture of whatever life here turns out to be.

The work for today was clearing out a bunch of hau that had overgrown a former dirt road obscuring it and making it completely impassible. They said this happens routinely and quickly - they did this job perhaps a year or so ago. Obviously this is a minor road used just for staff access to this part of the garden, on the west side of the river back from the part of the shore featured in Pirates of the Carribean #4.

Hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus) a fast growing tree in the mallow family. It is a tall woody plant, good at spreading, that creates a large tangle. The wood is very soft but fibrous - it reminded me a bit of the wood disposable chopsticks are made of. On the left is a closeup of the cut wood and the back of the worm-eaten leaves. I should have taken a nice photo of the plant but after hacking at it and hauling it to the dump all day long I was not thinking of the aesthetics of it but more considering it my adversary.

Above you can see the loaded truck filled with the trimmings - at least seven or eight truckloads were hauled out and dumped. We used chain saws for the heavy cutting, but also cane knife (at right). With a little practice I was impressed with what the cane knife can do. You use the weight of the knife to do the work, and cut the branch at an angle for best effect, on the sloped part of the blade. The cut shown in closeup above is of a fairly thick branch (two or three inches across), made with three angle cuts, and the center bit just breaks off.

It was good to see all my friends in the garden again, and I brought a Sugarloaf pineapple to share with them. It was also like a good workout at the gym - cutting, lifting, loading - but in a very beautiful setting without the sound of the waves on the wonderful Lawai-kai beach just down the road. The day went from overcast and rainy in the morning to humid and then clear, sunny, and hot by the afternoon, eventually with a cool breeze giving respite from the blazing tropical sun.

Back home by about four for my afternoon ocean swim. Only in Kauai.