Hawaiian Monk Seal molt (1)

Here's the seal I helped look after last Sunday. (I use the term "help" loosely. It was me and the boys alone with her for about an hour, then two other seasoned volunteers came by and handled the real work as more beach goers came out!) She is molting, or in the process of shedding her coat. This seal is about 2 years old and going through her first molt. From what I understand, seals molt multiple times over their lifetimes.
They are not more susceptible to disease during the molt, but it's a tiring process for them, so a typical seal will stay in the same general area (sleep in the same or nearby spot on an open beach for a week or two) and it is important that they are left alone. When seals molt on popular beaches, volunteers are posted near the seals until sunset, at least on the weekends. She started her molt in Ewa, then made her way west to Nimitz, where she finished her molt. I think in the picture below her molt is roughly 50%. Her new coat is peeking through and you can see how great she will look when she's clear of the old, dirty coat. It sounds silly, but the words "Shiny and clean! Shiny and clean!" kept running through my head. It's from a cartoon or a movie the boys watch...it's bugging me that I can't think of which one right now.
You can't make it out in the picture, but one of the posted signs reads: "Shhhh! Monk Seal sleeping. Quiet please!" I was talking to another volunteer when Robbie runs up to me with an iPod in his hand. Earlier in the week, I'd downloaded the free Vuvuzela app (yes, for fun!). In front of the ropes, he starts playing with the app, which makes the horn sound. Luckily, it could barely be heard over the sound of the waves and the wind. I was able to get him to understand not to talk loudly around the seal, what didn't translate was also not to play with loud, obnoxious iPod games. Oops.

Hawaiian Monk Seal molt (2)

I decided to start a sugar detox this week...

...but only after I finished this! After Sunday morning on the beach, I wanted to study for a few hours before heading to the movies to see Toy Story 3. Cub has been sick again and we both haven't been sleeping well, so I figured I needed something to keep me up during the late afternoon matinee. (I know! So pathetic, yes?) Along with a large soy cafe mocha, I picked up this yummy treat at the coffee house: a Liliko'i Mac Nut Bar. That big white spot in the picture? A blizzard of powdered sugar that my humble iPhone camera wouldn't even attempt to render any color or definition from.
Liliko'i (or passion fruit) is a fruit - and flavor - I first came to know and love in St. Lucia. The variety is a bit different here. From what I remember in St. Lucia, the passion fruit (and resulting juices and jams, etc.) is pink. The Hawaiian liliko'i is pale yellow inside and a little tart, making it a perfect substitute in the classic lemon bar. The mac nut crust didn't do much for me, but on the whole, a good indulgence. Now excuse me if I am a little cranky for the rest of the week; I've already used up my sugar quota.

My new wallpaper

I took a volunteer shift on Nimitz Beach Sunday morning, keeping an eye on a molting monk seal. The boys came along and played on the beach nearby. It was the start of a busy day! More information and pictures to follow this week.

On the train again

Seeing a snapshot like this makes me wonder if wanderlust is inherited, and if so, will the boys get it from me.

More monk seals!

One morning this week I hit the beach for a little walking exercise. And I saw a few monk seals! I recognized one pregnant seal sleeping on the sand near the waves and was able to confirm her ID due to her “bleach” (literally, a number/code bleached on her coat of fur with an over-the-counter hair product). I was so excited to see her and take her picture that it wasn’t until I was walking away that I spotted a second monk seal resting on the reef about 20 yards from her. Wow, I’ve got to get my act together if I want to volunteer with the monk seal response team! I’d be laughed off the beach if I couldn’t see a seal right in front of me.
On a return trip later that morning, I found the two seals close to each other (rising tide and stronger waves probably pushed the other off the reef and onto the sand). It’s one thing to find seals and see them sleeping undisturbed, it’s another to see other folks also on the beach smile in appreciation of these beautiful creatures and give them the space they deserve. The monk seal response team works hard to protect the seals when this isn’t the case, but it’s always nice to be reminded that there are more good folks out there in this world than bad.

Sleepers

Guess which monk seal is pregnant. ;) Yes, both are female. Coincidently, that's Rocky on the left. She had a pup in April. AMAZING to think she was just as big a few months ago!

Look closely

Here's the monk seal I nearly missed!

The end for the Advertiser

Big - yet not surprising - publishing news in Hawaii: Honolulu is now a "one newspaper town." It's been talked about for months, but on Sunday, the Honolulu Advertiser produced its last daily newspaper. The Advertiser was bought out by and merged with the Star-Bulletin to create the Star Advertiser, which launched on Monday. Lots of jobs were lost by long-time journalists and technicians, and the Advertiser web site was to be shut down by Monday.
I feel a little bad about poking fun/being critical of some of their recent work, but it got under my skin so I will share it! A few weeks ago the Honolulu Zoo hosted a Hawaiian Endangered Species Celebration, where local groups and environmental advocates were allowed to host a booth and perform public outreach about local endangered species. The Advertiser used archive photos of native African animals residing at the zoo to promote their story on the event both on the front page (pictured) and three additional pictures on the first page of the Island Life section. Who knows, maybe it is worse than I believe, maybe they are stock photos of random, non-native Hawaiian endangered species that don't even reside at the zoo. The supporting text proudly talks about the native Hawaiian species like the nēnē, koholā (humpback whale), and Mauna Loa silversword plant to be featured at the event. But where are their pictures?? Surely they have some dazzling pictures of these species or any of the other 56 endangered animals and 318 endangered plants, whether archived or from talented, local photographers?

San Jose (CA) Kidney Walk

This year's Kidney Walk is tomorrow, Saturday, June 5th, benefiting the National Kidney Foundation. The San Jose event starts at 10:00 AM and walkers will stroll 3 miles through downtown. My brother-in-law, sister, nephew, and niece will be walking. For one more year (hopefully the last, if not second-to-last!) we will be joining them in spirit and cheering them on from across the Pacific. To donate to the Kidney Foundation, click here.

More monk seals at Nimitz Beach

Here's Rocky, another Hawaiian monk seal, resting on Nimitz Beach Saturday afternoon. I like this wider shot as you can make out Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head toward the East. Rocky has had a good Spring. She was tracked by the local volunteer network to Kauai in April, where she had a pup. She stayed with the pup there for 4-6 weeks, then weaned the pup and is now back on and around Oahu beaches. I've learned that seals tend to come back to the same place to have their pups. Rocky has "pupped" on Kauai in years past, so when she disappeared from Oahu shores (looking really, really big and obviously pregnant) they figured she swam to Kauai when her time was nearing. They were right.
This stretch of beach was pretty quiet, and Rocky probably had a peaceful day with only a little volunteer monitoring. Other times when seals haul out to crowded beaches, they will get more than the ropes to surround them - they will have one or two volunteers working hard to let the seals sleep undisturbed, mostly intercepting humans and dogs who get to close.

Trumpeter Chris Botti in Honolulu

On a Thursday night in early April, I snuck away for an evening to the Blaisdell Concert Hall to see trumpeter Chris Botti. I knew nothing about him except for a vague memory that he had a PBS special in the last few years (although I didn't see it). Artists like this don't happen upon Honolulu regularly, so I made a special effort to get there. The night did not disappoint. Not only did he and his band give an incredible musical performance, he is a talented showman and can work a concert hall with humor and story telling like the best of them. I thought to myself at one point that he's the type of guy who could buy your car off you for below blue book, then turn around and sell it back to you for twice as much as he gave you. I better check my box office receipt...maybe he did!
My description might sound a little like he's a sketchy guy, but that's not the case. He seems genuinely friendly, funny, and appreciative of life's gifts. And, of course, an amazing musician. If his name pops up on your radar in your hometown, support the arts! Run and get yourself a ticket.

My afternoon chasing an Internet star

I spent some time on the beach this afternoon training with HMSRTO volunteers, learning more about monk seals and what volunteers do when looking for seals along the shore, as well as how they handle crowds at the beach while the seals sleep. There were four seals spotted in the White Plains vicinity today, but when I walked the beaches I saw just two. One very exciting siting - at least for me - was to see Kermit, a popular 12 year old, 500+ pound male seal who has been outfitted with a data transmitter for the past three months. On the Monk Seal Mania blog, they regularly post the data maps that are transmitted from that device. For fun on that blog, they call the device the "iKermit." It has provided the scientists and volunteers a ton of really fascinating data. For example, his deepest dive (for food) was 750 ft (an average dive is 150 ft). And when he ventured from Oahu to Kauai last month? Took him 21 hours and he literally swam in a straight line. (How's THAT for an internal GPS system?!) Here he is out in the water off Nimitz Beach earlier today. We followed him from the shore for a quarter of a mile, looking to see if he would haul out again, but he just kept swimming west.

Summer is here!

Our oldest one came home with a preschool diploma in the backpack yesterday. It's official! He'll be a kindergartner in a few months. Until then, we're in full Summer mode now that school is out. I made pancakes this morning and will probably bake banana bread with Robbie later in the afternoon. We'll finish the day with a pool run. This summer I will be putting my years of teaching swim lessons to use - on my own kids. Robbie is still a little hesitant about the water, while Cub has real potential.
Pictured here is a bucket of sidewalk chalk. His teacher says Robbie's writing is a bit behind, so this is another one of the things we'll be working on during the long, hot days ahead. Remind me again, why did I object to kids returning to school in early August? ;)

A gift from the parking gods

On Saturday morning, the parking gods conspired to give me a message: George Clooney is still on the island, at least for another week.
The semester is over now, and that means no more Saturday classes this summer. What's one to do with her Saturdays free? Well, last Saturday I went to the annual Honolulu Book and Music Festival, downtown on the grounds of Honolulu Hale. There was one scheduled speaker who interested me: Kaui Hart Hemmings, author of The Descendants, the book optioned into the movie that is filming here now with Clooney cast as lead.
I was running late and had to get to the bank. After the bank, I realized I was going to cut it very, very close if I was going to see the session. I went for it. Pulling off the freeway, I passed a public parking garage I thought would be open. Not so. My last shot would be street parking closer to the venue. I turned onto S. King Street and sized up the scene. The expected crowd was there and it wasn't looking good for me. But one block over, hallelujah! A spot on the street appeared. I got to the "Author's Tent" in time to hear there was one more week of filming and George is still here. Somewhere. He has been super low-key. I thought he might be staying at the Kahala, but normally if someone is there for a while, word leaks. So I think he's renting a private residence. And that friends, is purely a guess.
The author was joined in the Author's tent by Jim Burke, a producer on the film and partner in a production company with Alexander Payne, the movie's screen writer and director. The author and producer took questions from the small crowd for 45 minutes, talking of writing, optioning rights, developing a screenplay, scouting local scenes, working with local extras and local production crews...and George Clooney. For the record, I was there but asked no questions. And no, I was NOT the near-rabid fan who asked about George's whereabouts at least three times! I did admire her pluck though.

17!

That's the number of Furlough Fridays Hawaii public schools reached on Friday. The last one for the year...and only because there is one Friday left on the school calendar. Robbie's school breaks for summer recess on May 26. It's so bizarre to me that they get out so early. In CA as a kid, schools always got out the second week of June. Robbie does go back earlier than we ever did - August 2 this year, if I'm reading the kindergarten schedule right. Just one more thing I'll never understand - why they get out early in Spring yet have to be in rooms without air conditioning during the most hot and humid month of the year. Baffling!
During the school show on Thursday, one of the older grades performed/lip synced a furlough protest song! In years past, I didn't stick around very long after Robbie's group performed. Cub was much younger, and the day was usually really hot. But Thursday was nice and we were enjoying Cub running around in a shaded corner near the cafeteria, so I kind of just went with it. When the furlough song came on, Noel and I both looked at each other with raised eyebrows. I think the crowd got pretty quiet, too. But the kids got the biggest ovation at the end, so those in attendance appreciated it.
Here's a picture from one side of the lawn. A group is performing a hula in front of the Royal court at the other end of the field. In the foreground, there is a group wearing paper plant hats, waiting for their turn to hit the stage. Another paper plate craft! Robbie comes home with a lot of objects crafted out of paper plates. I'll have to share pictures of some of my favorites soon, but for now, enjoy the one I bestow the title of "Most Original Paper Plate Craft I've Seen Yet."

Mother's Day - take two

Tomorrow we’ll be heading out of the house early to catch Robbie’s school’s annual May Day pageant. It’s a big, well-coordinated affair on the large lawn outside the front entrance (they have been rehearsing for over a month!). Per tradition, they have the older elementary kids representing a Royal Hawaiian court (King, Queen, etc.), as well as “representatives” from the major Hawaiian islands. After the parade of dignitaries, each grade does a song or dance. Family and friends flock to the school to enjoy the show and it gets pretty crowded around that lawn. For the past two years, the preschoolers have performed the Hukilau, but they’ve switched it up this year and will be singing The Rainbow Song. Each year I plan to post the video or more pictures of the show, but at the last minute I decide not to because I’m not comfortable posting other kids’ pictures to the Web without parental knowledge or consent (even when they are so gosh-darned cute!). So I’ll make no promises this year, as I have in the past.
Robbie will be entering kindergarten next year. His current teachers are extremely generous and thoughtful and they will be a hard act to follow, but we are looking forward to the change and seeing our "medium size boy" grow (his words, he insists he's not a big boy yet). Here is the Mother’s Day letter and picture they had Robbie draw and sign for me, one of the many thoughtful things that they do throughout the year. I'm in his favorite red! I was joking before when I said that the “mistake” in the picture could be Cub. I know exactly who is pictured next to Noel and I, and I couldn’t agree more. Kids are so smart.

Diamond Head Lighthouse

I love lighthouses! Who doesn't? They're a mix of our nautical history, architecture, coastlines, and fun. And at one time immensely practical. All things that appeal to me. They are not so much needed anymore in most areas, but they will indeed live on due to dedicated people who preserve and take care of them. There are only a small number on Oahu and I think I've seen two (I wrote about one in one of my earliest posts). The Diamond Head Lighthouse has actually been on a US postal stamp, yet I still didn't know it's exact location. While hiking Diamond Head with my Mom a few weekends ago, there it was! Clear as day, wedged between the surf breaks and the crater. I knew that wherever it was, the lighthouse was actually on private property, and that didn't make much sense until I viewed it from the rim of the crater. Now it will make sense to you, too.
Classes are nearly over for me. The last two weeks or so I've been more or less in a hole. My programming class reared it's tough head and kicked me while I was down. I threw in the towel on the final assignment yesterday - already 5 days overdue - and submitted garbage in hopes of getting a few points for trying. (I should also acknowledge a great instructor who doesn't give up on her students and is very patient and understanding!) Now just a final test to go this week. I will no longer jokingly say, "Wish me luck!" I really need it. ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's my gift from Robbie, made in class this week and brought home in the backpack. A painted "treasure chest" craft box, adorned with foam cut-out stickers. Inside the box was a folded note, also in the picture. It says, "Happy Mother's Day" with his signature on one side, and on the other he attempted to draw me and Noel, and possibly someone else. Cub, perhaps? When asked, he said the unidentifiable object was a mistake. Ouch! Red remains one of his top color choices (he's still a big fan of the bird house we painted last year). Robbie is quite fond of this box and tends to forget it's actually mine. :)
Like last year, the annual list of the most popular baby names in the country were announced late last week. Thanks in part to the Twilight phenomenon, Jacob holds steady at the top for boys. A disturbing trend..."Cullen" is making it's way into the charts as a boy's name. (I'm told that this is Twilight's Edward's last name.) Seriously? Naming your dog or ferret that - OK. But your child??

Another house guest

I couldn't sleep on Friday night (a real rarity for me) and went down to the couch in the very early morning and started watching some Tivo'd programs. I think it was at least an hour later when I noticed this fellow on the ceiling near the door. This time of year a lot of these moths hang out near the front lights - outside of course - so I'm used to them. But I don't like them inside! My attempt to bat him out an open door with a broom failed and he ended up in the kitchen on the blinds. To give you an idea of his size, those blind slats are 3 - 4 inches wide. He later flew over to the ceiling above the TV, and remained there for the next 24 hours. He moved on to the upstairs guest bedroom on Sunday, where I was finally able to catch him and release him outside. Robbie took note of my technique to trap him (combination of Tupperware container and paper towels) so maybe he can help me next time. ;)