My Summer Vacation: Pastoral? Bucolic?

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Pastoral? Bucolic?

I went to Waimea again to do laundry. During the drive I was wondering what the best word would be to describe the drive. Was it pastoral? Or would bucolic be a better word? When I got home, I did some research. According to the on-line Merriam-Webster information, the difference between them is, "We get bucolic from the Latin word bucolicus, which is ultimately from the Greek word boukolos, meaning "cowherd." When bucolic was first used in English as an adjective in the early 17th century, it meant "pastoral" in a narrow sense—that is, it referred to things related to shepherds or herdsmen and in particular to pastoral poetry. Later in the 19th century, it was applied more broadly to things rural or rustic. Bucolic has also been occasionally used as a noun meaning "a pastoral poem" or "a bucolic person."" So probably bucolic is more appropriate since it is associated with cows, while pastoral is more associated with sheep. A synonym of bucolic is rural.

While going through my photos to find 1 that personified "bucolic", I noticed remnants of the Kohala Field System in some of the photos. The Kohala Field System was 1 of the pre-contact Hawaiian community's agricultural production systems that covered over 23 square miles (or about 15,000 acres) in North Kohala; it was believed to have been able to have fed 20,000 to 30,000 people at its peak. Remarkably, it was sustained by natural rainfall. There were at least 2 others known on this island.

Well, whether it was bucolic or pastoral, up on the Kohala Mountain Road it was colder than either home or Waimea! As I was driving along I noticed the outside temperature was 56 degrees F! Waimea was 63 when I arrived.

I started out my day in Waimea by getting the Best Breakfast Burger in Town at Aloha Burger. Since they have utensils for people who want their regular burger without the bun I asked if I could have the bun on the side like a piece of toast & get a fork to eat the rest of it with. It was much less messy than eating it as a burger!

While I was in Waimea, I stopped at HPM Building Supply to see if they had lights for the Lumi Pōpoki, Cat Genie Room, & the one over the kitchen sink. They did not. So I will have to check out Lowe's & Home Depot when I am picking up the isolation valve next week. I also stopped at Waimea Town Center & checked out Waikoloa Stream which was flowing about 10 days ago; it was dry today.