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| In the past several days, trees were trimmed at our condo complex providing us with a better view of the sea from the front of our condo. With a view of Hanalei Bay from our lanai, it’s wonderful having views from both the front and back. |
Our lives don’t entirely revolve around searching for the next good photo and story to share, although it may seem so to new readers if they step in midway making an assessment that we’re always looking for the next day’s topic.
Nor, does life center on the mundane, although pleasant aspects of daily living that include housekeeping, cooking, grocery shopping, and a degree of lounging ensconced in mindless drivel.
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| The Nene Bird is the Hawaiian Island state bird, evolved from the Canadian Goose of which we’re very familiar after living in Minnesota. |
For us, somehow we find ourselves relishing in the details of the above, however infinitesimal or grand, that brings us to a moment of ultimate joy and pleasure.
It may be as simple as the first bite of a good meal we’ve prepared, the music and credits running at the end of a great movie we’ve watched, or such an experience as we had on Friday with knowledgeable, albatross whisperer Cathy.
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| Cliff scene on our walk. |
Or, it may be the result of the two red-crested cardinals that stop by several times each day, alighting on the veranda railing squawking at me for yet another bit of the chopped raw walnuts that I share with them each day. Magic moments. They come in all shapes and sizes.
And, from a more intimate perspective, they come from people we meet, the friends we’ve made, a kindness, a generosity, and a well-spoken or written expression that affects us in such a profound way, that it almost feels as if our hearts are turning over in our chests.
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| The black rock lining this cliff’s edge in lava that formed the Hawaiian Islands eons ago. |
So was the case yesterday morning when Cathy sent us an email message after reading the first of our posts, an email that made us smile from ear to ear with appreciation and reverence from the depth of the core of her intention.
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| A Hala Tree. |
She wrote:
“I have really enjoyed reading your blog! And thank you for the kind words, you have no idea how much it means to me. You got all of the information correct, I am very impressed. The albatrosses need all the friends they can get, and I appreciate your appreciation and respect for them. As the sea level rises and they lose nesting areas, we may start seeing more of them here.”
The thoughtful message continued on with suggestions and offers of information from this wildlife expert that only such a passionate individual would take the time to share. We gobbled it all up in one fell swoop and later went back, reading it again in bite-size pieces absorbing each word.
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| A closer view of the pods growing on the above Hala Tree. In a way, it resembles a pine cone. |
Easily, a reader may interpret our sharing this morsel as a case of “tooting our own horn.” Perhaps, in a way, we’re doing exactly that. Who among us is exempt from absorbing and enjoying a kindly expression? Living life away from those we love who on occasion fed us such a compliment may make us more prime to accept such a fine morsel.
However, the words in her quote that gave us the most gratification were “You got all of the information correct, I am very impressed.” Most recently, we wrote a post as to how we don’t profess to be experts on any particular aspect of our travels or of life itself. You know, “jack of all trades, master of none.” That’s us.
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| Many of the rocky beach areas are inaccessible and dangerous with many warning signs posted along the edge. |
How we strive to get the information right in our daily posts is more profound than we can stress here. At times, we deal is vagaries in hopes of avoiding embarrassing ourselves with inaccuracies.
Then again, we shouldn’t beat ourselves up over this. Who writes with photos every single day of their lives for the world to see in the form of a loose essay, day after day for little remuneration other than the kind observations of others?
Although we have zillions of readers worldwide (go figure) we hang onto their every word in email and posted comments providing us with feedback that fills us with all that we need or desire.
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| An oblong pool that is created each day during high tide. |
Thank you to those of you who write and to those of you who contemplate writing sometime in the future. And for the lurkers who will never write, you too, give us a sense of great joy as we see our numbers grow into the hundreds of thousands, hoping that somehow our tidbits of life on the move may bring you but a moment of pleasure.
And now, on this beautiful day in Kauai, the doors and windows open to the filtering sunlight, the sounds of the roosters crowing, the birds singing, and the next best thing that calls to us to share with you tomorrow and tomorrow.
Photo from one year ago today, February 16, 2014:
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A “retired general,” a Cape Buffalo, moseys on down the road hoping to meet up with a few cronies while we were on our final game drive in Kruger National Park. We were leaving South Africa on February 28th one year ago. For more photos and details of that game drive, please click here.
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