The Kope is in full bloom!

Warning to all of you espresso lovers: this blog post may encourage your taste buds to thirst for a cup o' hot joe. In fact, as I type, I am sipping on a cup of dark roast and facing the blooming coffee plants. How appropriate!

Every morning we rise and literally smell it! The coffee, I mean. Although this is not your typical bean-roasted aroma. It's the sweet pollinated fragrance of the white coffee flower. Which means it's snowing like mad in South Kona! We refer to this time as the annual "Kona Snow." Every single coffee orchard in the area is abundant with snow white beauty.

Is it really that time of the year already? SPRING! Time sure flies when you're in paradise. Especially when there's lavish beauty to take in. It's plentiful! I didn't expect to see much sign of season change, but I was surely mistaken. You can feel it in the air. It's almost as if you run smack dab into a wall of humidity. It's a heavy, thick atmosphere. The vog (volcanic fog) also adds to the mix. When you've been here all winter, it's easier to notice small changes. When spring and summer roll around in Hawaii, it means mainly one thing: RAIN. With intermittent cycles of sunshine. It's astonishing how quickly the weather shifts. And with that comes vegetation change. This is where nature really starts bearing it's fruit. The coffee trees are a prime example. We have had a number of heavy rainfalls recently. And to be honest, it's quite refreshing. It's like a giant hug from the Pacific Northwest. Comforting. And we have a deep connection with it. After all, it is part of us. It feeds us, nourishes us, but most importantly sustains the planet that we live on.

Ken and I have been busy bees! (Hence the delayed blog post). So far on this stay on the macadamia nut farm, we have built two out of three garden beds! What a success it's been! Next on the list is a trellis, roosting boxes, and a small lava rock herb garden. With a flexible work schedule, we are able to balance work on the farm as well as our daily beach bummin'. We love both equally. With only three weeks left on this majestic island, we still have so much to do, so much to see! You'd think six months would be enough to explore and see everything...not even close! We could spend another year here if we didn't love home so much! 

Full moon is approaching quickly! One of our favorite things to do at this time of the month is swim with the dolphins. We usually head down to Kealakekua Bay (where they come to rest and play) in the wee hours of the morning. One particular week there were at least one hundred dolphins in one area. It was magical. After swimming with them for an hour or so, you feel completely enlightened and cleansed. Inside and out. It's almost as if they heal your ailments. They know. I strongly believe in the connection that takes place with these creatures in our everyday lives. We are all a part of each other. Different  puzzle pieces of the earth. Hawaii has taught me the real definition of energy. 

Well folks, the time has come for me to wash my coffee soiled french press. I raise my mug for the last swig of cold Kona brew. Okole maluna!
(p.s. It's pineapple season! They are popping up everywhere!)

Darci Jo Duncan