One Widowmaker Gone

As I was driving up this morning I saw Steph heading up Wilhelmina Rise again; I also passed Ona as she was just starting down Sierra Drive. Later, as I was walking I met up with Steph as she was getting to the top of Sierra; while we were talking Rosie & Daisy, whom we met yesterday, went by! I later saw Steph as she was on her way down Lurline and I was on my way up. I noticed that the widowmaker I was most concerned about is no longer hanging in the Norfolk Island Pine on Lurline; it looks like the person who cleaned up the downed limbs at the base might have also knocked the widowmaker out of the tree because everything is nice and neat around the tree.

Nine minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Eleven minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Look! No widowmakers!

I've been keeping an eye on the invasive fern; I have permission to remove the fronds with mature sori. But when I tried to remove 3 fronds the other week I found that the strong gusts we were having had broken off 4 fronds, only 2 of which I was planning on removing. Since I didn't want to make it look scrawny I left the last frond with the intent of removing it when the 2 very young fiddleheads I saw were unfurled. Today I looked again and found there are actually 5 new fronds! I will have to see how they're doing next week before I leave.

Three of the new fronds starting to rise above the old fronds.

They look very artful, too bad this species is so invasive!

Dad said he was done with breakfast when I arrived. He had eaten about 25% of his fried egg sandwich but he drank all his Breeze supplement. He was awake and talkative for much of the morning; he was less hoarse & also coughing less than he did yesterday. I have not heard back on the blood test results yet.

My right knee was a little uncomfortable when I started my morning walk; it wasn't painful. It was just letting me know it was there and it didn't like having to do the heavy lifting climbing up parts of the Mau'umae Trail. I think I will throw my Biofreeze into my backpack so I have it available to ice my knee after each walk. And, yes, it is the same knee that I injured in September 2017 when Dad fell. About halfway through my walk my knee was no longer uncomfortable; walking helped circulate the synovial fluids & made it feel better.

Dad was restless this morning so I cut my mid-morning walk short since he did not go down for his nap until about 10:30. I decided to check out exactly how long my Maunalani Circle only walk is and how many minutes it takes; yesterday I told RN Fred it was about 0.6 miles and 12 minutes based on when I went to the Mau'umae Trail head and split the walk in two. What were the results? According to my Samsung Health app it is 0.58 miles and took me 12:55; I was pretty close with my estimates! Fred might start walking it right after work to get himself motivated to walk; he said he feels too tired when he gets home to do anything so I suggested a short walk immediately after he got off work and before he got in his car. I know I donʻt feel like doing much walking once I drive home; on the drive home my brain sort of gets to thinking the day is over and now it is time for a shower & sleep!


When I got back RN Sierra told me that when she went it to give Dad his meds just before lunch she found him diagonally across the bed and with 1 foot on the floor. That seemed to be as far as he could move himself; he told her he had to go help his friend get his car. Earlier in the morning he said he had to go to the bathroom so he could go home. For the next couple of days they will have someone in the room with him when I am not here so they can check if he is still trying to get out of bed.

Lunch today was Pork fried rice, Pacific vegetable mix, Tossed salad, Fresh strawberries, and Egg drop soup. Dad slept for a while, I think he was tired from trying to get out of bed. When I finally woke him up he immediately ate all of his half a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, half of his fresh strawberries, and all of his Breeze supplement. Then he went back to sleep.


Dinner today was Sesame ginger fish, Brown rice, Spinach with garlic butter, Unfrosted banana cake, and Italian wedding soup. Dad slept alot after lunch, I think his attempts to get out of bed tired him out. When I woke him up for dinner he ate nearly all of his half an egg salad sandwich and half of the unfrosted banana cake. He drank all of his Plus supplement.


Because I didn't walk at mid-morning, not significantly any way, I walked before I went home. Civil twilight ended at 6:55, nautical twilight at 7:21. Dad was very awake and talkative this evening so I started walking at 7:30, about 16 minutes before the end of astronomical twilight. In other words, it was dark. I was able to see the weekly fireworks in Waikiki from the park. I also saw the lights at Ronnie & Douglas' house, they were beautiful! When I got back to the car I checked the temperature, things are back to normal.

Ten minutes after nautical twilight on Maunalani.

The fireworks in Waikiki.

Lights at Ronnie & Douglas' house.

My eating has been somewhat out of control this week and my weigh-in this morning showed it! I gained 2.5 pounds over the last week! And that was with walking 8.2 miles for the Great Aloha Run! I need to control my eating better than I have been. Especially because I usually gain weight when I am off-island, which I will be starting the middle of next week. Auwe! On the positive side, I won't need to go to Goodwill to get another pair of long pants while on my trip!

A week or so before I go back to the Seattle area I send out an email to friends and family to see if I can get together with any of them. I did that today. Almost immediately my friend Beth sends back, "Freedom Fund Gala is on March 2nd @ 6:30 pm". I asked, "... can I come in black jeans ... I have no gala clothes here." She says, "Hey you accepted the first community service award in black jeans so they're ok with me!" So I guess I am going to a gala. In black jeans. I guess I was kind of infamous for wearing black jeans. And hiking boots ... but that's another story.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Shannon!