What I did one day last week

Believe it or not, most of my days start around 6:30 am; we don't have late nights around here since Luis leaves for work at 5:00 am. I start the day by checking on the news on the internet since we don't take a paper. After that I usually review the latest screeds on my favorite lefty websites so I can stoke the burning anger towards my government that simmers in my heart. A few favorites, if you're interested in increasing your own aggravation with this administration, are Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, and Salon, especially Glenn Greenwald. After that anything can happen, sometimes I take lunch to Luis or take a book to the beach or go on an excursion like I did last Thursday.

I spent Thursday at Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden on the east side of Oahu in an area called Kaneohe. It's on the opposite side of the island from where I live but it only takes about 40 minutes to drive there, it's a small island. This garden, it's actually more of a park, is one of five Honolulu Botanical Gardens and the third one I've been to see. It is 400 acres and is planted with rainforest trees and shrubs from the tropics of the world. In the background are the Ko'olau Mountains and there is a lake created by a flood control dam. It's beautiful like everything on this island.




















There is a path that winds from the visitor's center to the lake. When you approach the lake there are several pavilions for gatherings and picnics. One was occupied by a large group of Japanese tourists and surrounding the pavilion was a flock of mallard ducks playing the role of a flock of pigeons. There were about fifty ducks begging for food and swarming the tourists.















I walked down to the lake where a group of older Japanese tourists were singing rousing songs together, probably about Nanking or Bataan or something. The lake had its share of ducks as well but they were outnumbered by Hawaiian coots who sometimes would swim so low in the water that it looked like they were just floating necks and heads. They wouldn't let me get close enough for a good photo so I stole one from the internet.














I walked around some other areas of the garden but I had to leave around 3:00 so I wouldn't get stuck in rush hour traffic on the way home. It's a small island but it is packed with people who work in Honolulu or Pearl Harbor who all head west to go home.