2/17 The Garden and the Swamp

We went back to the garden today to finish our weeding and to put some taller stakes in the corners of the second garden so that we they get more fencing, the project can be done. We also chose a dozen plants from the nursery to plant in the garden. Now that it has been weeded and replanted with natives, it looks 100% better. It was a bit sprinkley, but not raining so we decided to go do weeding along the Alakoi Swamp Trail. Dave wasn't feeling great so he stayed back at the cottage to rest. Smidgie, Alastair, Kyle and I drove for about a half hour on muddy, potholed roads in the 4 wheel drive van to get to the trail head. It started raining lightly when we got there so we decided it was too wet to poison, but it was okay to take a hike. About a quarter of a mile in there is a boardwalk covered with wire mesh to walk on which goes for miles through a beautiful swamp. There were many different types of ferns and mosses along the way. At one point, being the graceful person that I am, I tripped on the mesh and went down. The biggest thing that was hurt was my pride, but then I discovered that I had cut my right hand on the mesh. Fortunately, I had a band aid with me and we continued on. We had a late lunch on the trail and then walked a little further, but decided to turn around as the rain was picking up. It was raining quite hard by the time we got back to the van and we certainly had an interesting ride out as the small puddles we had driven through were now quite deep. We got back and found that Dave was feeling a little better. I washed my hand in warm water and dish soap, but it looked like there was still some dirt in the wound and one end looked a little deep so we decided to drive down to Waimea to have it looked at. Part way down the hill we hit some fog and then Dave started not feeling great again. It was an interesting ride. By the time we got down the mountain, the clinic had closed so we went to the emergency room. Dave asked the nurse if there were any bugs going around and she said that people were coming in complaining of his same symptoms. Apparently, a volcano is erupting on the big island and the ask particulates are mixed in with the fog here and are affecting people who are prone to respiratory ailments, which, of course, Dave is. He at least felt better know what the problem is. The nurse cleaned out my cut and did get some more dirt out so our instinct were right. She thought the deeper part might need a stitch so was sending the doctor in. He took a look and decided to numb me up for the stitches. While we were waiting for the Novocaine to take effect, we chatted about how he came to be here. He was from North Carolina and did his residency in Southern California where he took up surfing (he was kind of cute (and young) like a surf boy). He went back to NC, but couldn't find a job. Soon after one of his classmates from California called and told him of the vacancy here in Waimea. He flew out, fell in love with the waves and here he has been for 2 1/2 years. He met a married a native girl and he expects to live here the rest of his life. Back to the stitches. It turned out that he had to put in six stitches - so I will have to compare with the grand kids to see who has the most. We came back up to camp just before dark, thank goodness, and had a small dinner. We watched a DVD on ferns that Katie had loaned us that wasn't great and then one that a student had made about the program up here. This one we will try to copy to bring home as it shows the camp and the work we do on the ginger and guava. We will have to move back to the main house tomorrow as someone is coming in and has been promised the cottage. Smidgie and Alastair are leaving tomorrow so it will be Dave and I and the Cornell students vying for the bathroom - should be interesting.