My Summer Vacation: The Plant Place

I went to The Plant Place this morning to check out the condition of their hāpuʻu; they had a lot of them! Including some 5- and 6-feet tall! Unfortunately, Warren is keeping those for his garden; he's been nurturing them for several years now. I found a nice hāpuʻu with a 20" trunk and fronds that reached up to 5 feet; he said it was $150 and he only accepts checks and cash. And if I paid with cash there would be a 10% discount so it would be $135. I asked Warren to put a hold on it, he did. Then I bought a palapalai to put in Dad's front yard where the water collects after a precip; it was $5 but I only had a $100 bill. After I got my change I went to check out the rest of the plants that Warren has; he caught up with me and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He said I could take the hāpuʻu with me today for $95 ! It was basically the change from buying the palapalai.

Well, Warren helped me load up the hāpuʻu and I drove it to Kelly's house; he wasn't home. So I left it by his gate as Abby curiously watched me and made a few tentative woofs. Warren says it will do fine with the west-southwest exposure with drip irrigation for the first year because of the elevation and the shade from the wall during the afternoon. It also has more precip than areas at lower elevations. In the note I left I wished Kelly a "Merry Christmas?", not sure how he's going to react since it is not at all as tall as the invasive fern and he didn't say yes. And I also haven't given him a plan yet. (I really was only going to look at the hāpuʻu! I think Warren was overcome by the holiday spirit!)

Before I went to The Plant Place I did my morning walk; I was a little late getting started. I saw Steph & Lorraine just as they were at the bottom of Lurline, merging on to Sierra Drive. We stopped and talked for a short bit; after finals Lauren fell ill so Steph's big day out with Lauren has been postponed until she is better. I also checked out the C. molybdites that was coming up on Lurline; it looks like spores concentrated at the outflow of the weep hole for the retaining wall.

Sunrise from Maunalani

From Sierra.

After I returned from dropping the hāpuʻu off at Kellyʻ's I started my mid-morning walk; I was about half an hour late but I still had time to make it if I kept moving. I ran in to Tom with Jellie & Mero on Maunalani Circle and ended up talking to him about 10 minutes; he will be moving his dad Eugene here to spend more time with him while he is still physically able to do things. I also saw Lisa walking her 3 dogs. I decided to just do the circle and headed back; it worked out well.

Lunch today was Beef stir fry, Brown rice, Tossed salad, Lemon meringue pie, and Split pea soup. Dad ate all of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich on his own! He also tried to eat the lemon meringue pie but it was too tart for him. He also drank most of his supplements.

The afternoon walk went well. I checked the ditch, it was damp but difficult to tell if it was flowing from where I was at.

When I got home I went to put the palapalai out in the back under the sprinkler; I wasn't quite sure what that thing was on the cinders. Turns out it was a decomposing rat. I also found that the last orchid that Mom was given as a gift was sending up another flowering shoot.

Before we left for dinner I found Chibi sleeping in S'mores' bed. If that is where she's at when S'mores comes up to her then its Chibi's own fault that S'mores is finding her!

Tonight was the Nawele Neighbors Christmas party hosted by Anita & Gordon. They have been doing this for about 20 years, maybe more. As usual there was lots of food, dessert, and fun & games!