Eric’s making a bench. A few weeks ago, after he cleared weeds and used his new chainsaw to trim trees, I mentioned, “Now, I need a bench.” That’s all I said. It was a seed of suggestion about the size of an ‘ōhi’a seed—no larger than a single human eyelash. It was not the seed…
Writing in the time of COVID-19: Day Fifty Six
Today is known as Endangered Species Day, a day not unfamiliar in Hawai’i where nearly one-third of every plant or animal protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act resides. Those Hawaiian monk seals I write about? Endangered. The short-tailed albatross I’ve written about? Endangered. The ālula, a plant I had growing in my yard until…
Writing in the time of COVID-19: Day Fifty-Five
The ceiling fan ticks above me. My friend the spider is centered in her web between the two chairs on the lanai. Lulu’s faint snore beside me slips like smoke from her mouth. Outside, doves coo, a rooster crows. I catch the bleating from a goat down the street. Not even the fringe of palm…
Writing in the time of COVID-19: Day Fifty Four
I’m a well-known note-taker. Today, dipping into the Notes app on my phone, I happened upon unedited notes from a talk by writer Ann Hood on how to write a kick-ass personal essay. I cleaned up my notes and share them here for my writer friends–and those readers who may wonder why they like a particular…
Writing in the time of COVID-19: Day Fifty Three
One June some years ago, 19 Laysan albatross chicks were banded. The chicks, some still with downy heads, were days away from fledging, days away from taking their first flights out over the ocean where they’d stay for the next three to five years before returning to land. The day after banding, I returned to…
Writing in the time of COVID-19: Day Fifty Two
There’s hope for our mango tree: we have new leaf growth. Mango is one of those fruits I’d never eaten until we moved to Hawaii. In fact, I remember my first experience. I was enticed by my friend and yoga instructor Elandra. Her enthusiasm about mangoes was magnetic. So, I joined her for a walk…
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