Beautiful Civil Dawn

Walking at 10 minutes or so before sunrise has made me look more closely at what we call different parts of the day. Like "dawn" and "dusk"; technically there are several "dawns" and several "dusks". The one I am referring to is the one just before sunrise, in the portion of the day called civil twilight. As I was leaving the house I noticed how the upper level clouds were being tinted by the rays of the rising sun; there were even better colors as I drove up but I could not get photos of those.

The view from home.

Looking at the colors over Maunalani.

Today the clouds were not as colorful from my reference photo points. The weather was dry but somewhat muggy; the trade winds are slowing down. I saw a Manu-o-Kū this morning, flying over the Lurline portion of the hill again. I was on the part of the circle just before it turns & starts to descend to meet up with Lurline. It came up from behind me so I was unable to see which tree it left from. Aue! One of these days I will be in the right place, at the right time, so I can find the tree! Sort of like finding the owner of the invasive Australian tree fern; it took a while but I discovered who it was.

Three minutes  before sunrise on Maunalani.

Fourteen minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Dad was sitting in the Orchid Dining Room waiting for his breakfast when I arrived. He sat with Mr. Kam; several of the other regulars were not in the dining room this morning so it was only the 2 of them at the table. Dad ate about half of his fried egg sandwich and all of his papaya & banana. He drank 120 ml of apple juice but no other fluids. Dad's okole got sore so he did not want to go upstairs to see the Popokilani or do any activities; he just wanted to sleep again. He stayed in the wheelchair for a little over 2 hours so that was good.

Dad frequently folds his napkin after he finishes his meal.

I didn't see any regulars on my mid-morning walk. Koa & Kuma started barking as I approached, which is very unusual; they've never done that before. Then I heard a sound behind me, a jogger & her dog were coming up; that's what they were barking about! I found a flattened Spotted Dove, they usually don't get hit because they are more wary and fly off when perceived threats are farther away from them; but its breeding season & sometimes they're not paying attention. Later, as I was doing my cool down stretches, I saw a White-tailed Tropicbird fly over! I also noticed some excavation work going on at Kelly's.

Flattened Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis).

Lunch today was Seafood pasta primavera, Succotash, Garlic bread, Tossed salad, Peach cream cake, and French onion soup. FYI - I did partake of the carbs last night, though not a full RDA-sized portion, only enough for a small taste. Now I am back to eating low carb; I just ate the seafood primavera topping & left the pasta. I also picked out the edamame & left the corn. There was no garlic bread on my plate so I was not tempted by it; I love garlic bread! Dad ate all of his 1/2 peanut butter & jelly sandwich and two desserts; he drank 120 ml orange juice and 120 ml water.


I ended up skipping my afternoon walk; Curtis' text did not get to my phone until about 5 minutes after he arrived in Dad's room! But that's okay, I was a bit more tired today than usual. When I got home I checked on the Easter lilies to make sure they were doing well before I give them to Maunalani for their gardens. One of the lilies has been munched on, it could be a caterpillar of either the Pink-spotted Hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata) or the Achemon sphinx caterpillar (Eumorpha achemon).


The reason I celebrate being divorced is because I think we should celebrate life events that have a profound effect on us; for me, divorce was one of those events. Some parts of being married (& also divorced) are not so much fun, but others are (for both). Its all part of life. I believe in a relationship there must be a balance of power; both partners need to have the financial ability to leave the relationship comfortably. That's not to say that there are no other considerations about ending a relationship, just that if there is no financial stability for the person wishing to get out of a bad situation, that makes it more likely the person will stay when it is not healthy to stay. I believe this applies in same gender as well as opposite gender relationships, relationships with a large age disparity no matter which partner is younger, and those of different ethnicities, cultures, religions, or nationalities. For me, as long as there is a balance of power and both are consenting adults, it's no one else's business. FYI - I was married for 9 years 11 months & 1 week, so I'm not saying jump at the first sign of discomfort; give it a good effort, but leave when it becomes clear it's not going to work. My kid thanked me for leaving; he said he liked it was better.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Arden!