Kalae Flowers

And now, for a little bit of a change from New Mexico scenery...

My other home is on Molokai, Hawaii (most of you know that). I don't live there anymore, but we rent out the home that we grew up in. This is in a village called Kalae. I still call it my home as my heart will not choose where I live now over where I grew up. So, I think of both places as home.

This is looking out of the window in the spare bedroom located in the washroom which is a separate building from the main house. My oldest brother Robert, who still lives in Honolulu, commutes home every so often to tend to his garden. It is a labor of love. The following images of flowers are pretty much right outside this window. Can you feel the cool breeze blowing through? By the way, according to the topo map of the area, the elevation is around 1300 feet.

This is a very large red heliconia. The plants grow very tall; maybe about 10-12 feet? When picked, these flowers do last for about a month or so in a vase of fresh water.

Oh, yes. The dahlias. I swear, one of these days the agricultural police will come after us! Having plants mail ordered and sent to Hawaii is nearly impossible. The plant companies just won't do it for various reasons. So, my dear brother orders his bulbs, has them mailed to me and then has me repackage them to send to Hawaii. That would make me an accomplice...

Obviously a pink dahlia. I have no knowledge of the hybrid names. Perhaps if my dear brother (cue the sister clearing her throat sound) reads this blog, perhaps he will add comments and enlighten us as to the names of all of these flowers!

I'll call this one the orange dahlia! How creative of me.

And, perhaps, one of the most scrumptiously colored day lily I've ever seen.

Let's call this one the 'big heliconia'.

And this one the 'little heliconia'.

I have no idea what this one is. Rob, is it a ginger plant of some sort? Help me here!

OK, this one I know; it's a blue ginger.

My brother says this citrus fruit is really really sour. I forgot what he called it, but it had something to do with the Philippines. Do you know why I can't remember even though he has told me the names of these things? It's because interjected with the names are really long, detailed dissertations of something or other stories that may or may not be related to the plant in front of me (too much information). No, it's not a tangerine (but it sure looks like it, doesn't it?).

So, there you have it. A small tour of just one corner of that beautiful yard in Kalae.

Last, but not least, don't forget that there is still time left to bid on a cigar box shrine to benefit the children of Oaxaca! The auction ends on Tuesday the 31st. It's not often that a mere fifty dollars can change the path of someone's life so positively and profoundly.