From the forest to the sea.

I've been admiring this tree for weeks with its language of radiant color. As I head up Piiholo Road it is back lit with a swathe of greens and browns, sticking out like a sore thumb and pulsating with life.

Which is good because you need some umpff to get up the east loop and into a clear HI State of Mind. 

Danny's biz 'Paia Bay Coffee' was the main registration point for this years Butterfly Effect. Being the canny single business man that he is, he gave away free coffee for all the female participants. Smug and well pleased with himself would aptly describe his latest community effort!

Ya know, no matter how many times I hang under a copter for the flower drop (and oddly there have been more than a few) it's always a sweet and lovely thing. Most often they let fly with plumeria, but this one made with laugh as (amongst other more delicate petals) chunks of bougainvillea rained down. With apologies to Madeline Ziecker as I pinched this and the next two pici's without her permission!

Front and center, Renata, me and everyone else appreciating the bougainvillea bombs.

This was a simple downwind group paddle, no competition or ego,  just everyone looking out for each other no matter what your level. 

Another unauthorized pinched pici of our lazy stroll to the water!

Super athlete that she is,  Renata played along with the girls....quickly followed by a proper coffee, run, bike and swim!

Good stuff, sweet vibe and hats off to  Tatiana for pulling it all together.

And finally, this pici deserves a double click. The irony being that I spent all morning avoiding Francky and his camera as he was on a paid shoot, and even though it was for friends I didn't want to intrude. This was the one time he pointed the lens at me and magically captured my sweet, joyful spirit and I'm eternally grateful to have that reflected back in such a beautiful image. Merci Monsieur Berthuot! 

It's been a while.

I love the late afternoon tranquil light of upcounty Maui.


Oddly these deep orange/gold/yellow blooms belong to the Silver Oak tree!

I was coming out of Rodeo General when across the street this late night barrel caught my eye.

The Google Street View car has been roaming the Island again. I snapped it as it sat like a sleeping giant at the Hawaiian Canoe Club Hale, it felt sinisterly dormant.

In coming off the water this week I couldn't help but ask this lady about her waterproof gallery. I got totally caught up in looking at all the photo's as she explained some of the magical and important moments in her life.

Talking of magical moments-Ulli's latest antics have become legendary. He just doesn't bloody care. While the rest of us were catching up, Ulles sits down and doesn't see a roof, but a diving board opportunity. It didn't take long for the harness line engineering to ascend said diving board to begin.

Roof divers and paparazzi at the ready.

I'm not sure who was more excited, Ulli for his flawless flying mangina performance or Brook for capturing the moment so perfectly!

And lets not forget Michelle's incredible flat footed back flip and this from a girl with a fear of heights!

Then there was this weeks Fabio meet and greet......absolute farking genius. While other stood in line for who knows what reason, Ulli's mission to take the piss was very clear!

On another note entirely, take the time to watch this audio slide show from Timothy Allen, the only still photographer on the BBC's Human Plant, it's stunning stuff. Peace - out.

"Don't quote me".

"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it". Confucius.

This feels like a good representation of my transition and transformation. I know I'm on the right path, but have often wondered at what point on my journey am I?

And in the end, as we all know it doesn't matter because the joy is in the journey and there will always breakthroughs and clarity.... followed by new paths.

I love this contrail underlining the moon, whose Latin name is luna and from which lunatic is derived. The ancients believed that lunacy fluctuated with the phases of the moon....it's been my experience that waxing and waning is not necessarily required.

OK- back to basics, yes, you are seeing double.... double trouble.

As for this....just make up your own story!

Put your paws up and rest a while under the palapa, and as I started with a quote, I'm going to end with one.

"We do not need to be in a hurry, and there is no time to waste." Miguel Ruiz.

Inspire 'd'.

There's nothing like a bit of flower power to set my appreciation groove rolling.

Hello Iris.
All three were communing in the same garden, lovely stuff.

Morning dew.

One of the locals at Kanaha.

Her feathers will be smelling a bit smokey this morning after the fire on Stable Road. No one was hurt, but there'll be a lot of washing and cleaning going on for those affected by this yesterday.

When I pass this I always want to spray a 'd' on the end.......maybe I will..... and start a graffiti scrabble game.

From work woes to rest and relaxation.

It 's been an intense week at work with the server that hosted both our e-mail and website going out of business with no notice. Not that big a deal if every thing's backed up - which we do a minimum of three times a day. Proper big deal if you don't back up the data on your website, which we left to said company that went belly up.

My friend Bill used to say there are three options with every job, cheap, fast and good. You only ever get two of them, so choose wisely. The scramble for our rebuild was fast and good......the bank balance took a hit for the team!

Suffice to say for the second week in a row I've not had my mid-week day off and let me tell you I've missed it.

This was long overdue.

My friend Ian and I went for the proverbial Sunday morning whale hunt. The ocean was as glassy as it gets, but after 90 minutes of paddling out the ultimate sighting was still elusive. Still - the joy is in the journey and it was impossible to ignore the fact that in late February we were cruising on the sea under our own steam on a gorgeous day, when we could be in England!

Going up! We finally converged with a mother and baby who swam gently and slowly along. After they dove we waited about 10 minutes before I said "I think it's wishful thinking that they'll surface in the same place", seconds later the mother exhaled a loud breath so close to us, that it took ours away.

These two are the result of an very successful Anglo-French accord.

Luckily for some, grasshopper was not on the menu.

A seed was planted months ago to give some attention to my yard and finally the plans are coming into fruition. Behold-before.....

.....and after.


And finally this week I'm super excited that I bought a new used surfboard. I'm hoping this declaration from the shaper means that despite the ineptitude of the rider - my new board will dispense what it says on the tin!

Weekend reflections.

It's late February and I was long overdue for a whale watch. While the rain drizzled down in Makawao, I headed out in the early morning to Kihei with the hopes of finding both the sun and the giants of the winter water migration.

The whales breached alright, but were way too far for off for us to paddle out and meet them. Meanwhile, Nancy and I had a close encounter of a smaller kind. Unfazed by our presence, a pair of big turtles breathed heavily on the surface and floated alongside us for a while.

......before diving gracefully into the depths below.

Meanwhile on the North shore, the gusty east winds blew and I expressed gratitude for my diverse home in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

As I sat at Sugar Cove with a friend sharing the ups and downs of life, her small son boogie boarded with confidence in the sloppy surf. All of us getting our needs met, lightening up with support of nature and each other.

Earlier in the day a friend asked me "do you cook for yourself"? "I do", was my reply.....cauliflower pasta anyone?