Fish Tacos

Made the lazy man's way - using Gordon's Battered Fish. Perhaps even yummier than the seared fish versions....

Long Lost Bento Friend

It's been a long while since I've had one of these bentos from K's Bento-ya in Waipahu. Some things never change (still only takes cash, still only comes in small or large, still costs the same). Some things weren't meant to change ;)

Poor Arthropods

They took the bait only because they were hungry. They didn't want to be locked up in a glass box, not eating a meal for days or even weeks. But here they are... waiting for the end... Hmmmmmmm, now I'm hungry....

Hawaiian Fish Hawaiian Names

We ran errands most of Saturday. Among those noble deeds was a stop at Aloha Tower where La was able to pick up some science text books for the kids, and we got to read a placard with more Hawaiian Fish names. Good read -

Fishing Friday!!!

Yup - these next several posts are going to be catch ups from the weekend. First in the que - fishing on Friday morning. I took the kids to the eastern flank of the flats and we waded for almost two hours before a weather front chased us back to shore. I caught a lizardfish early on and Noe ended up with a really young moray eel. She declared that "it is the grossest thing I've ever seen" yet she was mesmerized by the tiny wriggling fish chomping away at her bait. Marlon and Noe brought their tenkara rods, but I wanted them to get more experience with the spinning gear first. Unfortunately the strong winds from the passing front stopped us from using the tenkara rods. They wanted to catch small sergeant majors (and moray eels)... next time I'll rig the tenkara rods first.

Land Corals

Here's my thoughts on transitioning away from raising coral in reef tanks to growing succulents in pots. 1. Way cheaper to take care of. No large systems of pumps, lights, sterilizers, or protein skimmers. No electricity or water (expensive commodities here in Hawaii). And no large tank and sump - to own or clean. All you need are some cool succulents (or cacti), some nice pots, well draining soil (I found a recipe to produce a great mix) and full sun. 2. They grow just like coral frags. Arrange them to give them some room to grow, or crowd them for a 'look' - they'll be happy no matter what if you just give them good conditions. Coral are awesome to watch grow - especially when they are happy, but that's the hard part. pH, calcium levels, iodine, salinity, temperature, and a host of other parameters you need to monitor... and if one goes out of whack, they all seem to follow. 3. You can go on vacation. Noe and I water our succulent garden just once a week. I couldn't go a couple of days without my makeup water going dry. And trying to explain the RO filter and how much water to use to a prospective reef tank baby sitter was not an easy thing, and certainly a sure fire way to lose a friend. 4. There are way more places that sell succulents and cacti, than coral frags. In fact, in Hawaii it is against the law to sell coral (to protect the reefs - good move). I have seen some tanks that have coral, but I didn't want to get tempted so I just walked away. 5. Succulents will grow from a dropped leaf. I also have taken a liking to agaves and they do similar - grow from offshoots that you can pluck off the mother plant fairly easily. Marlon has noticed I look in planter boxes almost everywhere we go, and he has caught me taking cuttings almost everywhere a public planter box exists. 6. The quest to find new and unusual specimens is an exciting endeavor. Now that we've hit most of the Waimanalo nurseries, I'm thinking we're going to start visiting the farmers markets and maybe even the big swap meets - maybe (I still don't like crowded venues). So from all this it may seem like I've got a huge collection, but it is quite the opposite. Besides what is shown in the pictures, Noe and I have a few more pots and that's it. Being able to keep these plants in close proximity of each other, their relatively slow growth rate and our objective to pick only the best specimens when we go hunting have kept the numbers 'relatively' low. I'll build an outdoor bench to store these pots on and grow them out. Succulents (and agave and cacti, oh and Noe likes air plants too) are really cool plants!

Cool Pineapples

On Saturday, we went back out to Waimanalo to get some more plants for our home. We tried to take in a couple more nurseries we haven't checked out yet. One of those had a very large selection of fruit trees and pineapples in particular. Having planted our proverbial 'roots', it has been the absolute best time going out to find the plants we want to cultivate. Although we didn't purchase any pineapples (and these were ornamental), they are some really cool plants!

Marlon's First Surf at Pop's

Marlon and I picked up my old friend Nick in Waikiki and headed out to grab some morning surf. We were originally going to surf Cliffs over at Diamondhead, but when we got there the wind was nuking. We turned around, packed up and went over to Pop's. Side-offshore winds and a fun sized swell made for a great session. Nice swell for Marlon to try Pop's for the first time!!! Nick was having fun - You couldn't have asked for a better set of conditions - ahhhhhh, life in the waters of Hawaii...

Life in the Tank

Yes the water is really green, but it is an Infusoria culture to feed the baby Bettas we have. And there are more snails now... This is a sequence to show the snail opening and closing its mouth.

Plant Hunting on Saturday

We have been getting the itch to change out the landscaping in our backyard, so we took a trip out to Waimanalo to checkout more of the nurseries. We found ones that had water lilies and humor... Others had some really cool trees, the opportunity to teach the kids how to drive (they pushed golf carts on us - and I taught the kids how to drive it), some really loud chickens and cool views of the mountains. I only took a few pictures at this place... And then we hit another shop and found more cool plants. The kids were hungry so we headed into Kailua. Wouldn't you know it, another nursery where Noe and I found more succulents!!! I think I've figured out why I like succulents so much - they are like the land versions of coral... more on this later.