HAWI

They call it “God’s Country.” When I describe, amazed, Hawi’s howling winds, or the strong “squalls” and rain soaked trades that constantly buffet my little cottage all night till it feels like it’s gonna lift off and fly to Kansas, people who live here just grin and say, “yeah, it’s God’s country!”
I moved here a month ago to the north end of the Big island, but am only now just finally getting“settled in”. After 12 years in Kona, I said good-bye to my cozy little rental (with the big yard that I will NEVER have to mow again!) and my thirty foot palm trees that I planted from baby coconuts (that needed their fronds trimmed) , and my sweet neighbors whose (often spicy!) conversations would waft through my house like bar-b-q smoke. I knew their kids. I knew their kid’s kids. I knew their cats, for Pete’s sake!
I bid adieu to “vog” and my daily itchy eyes and morning cough and sinus “stuff”.
And now I drive home with spectacular ocean views of the Kohala coast. I come home lush green landscape where i don’t need to lift a finger , to a porch railing lined with bananas, papayas and a pomelo that the owner of my cottage picked from the “orchards” that morning near my house. I cozy up on my little front porch and watch the evening violet sky as the clouds carry the sun west. The fish pond filled with lilies below my porch simply sits lovely. Of course there would be a fish pond here - water baby that I am!
Feels good, it does. Feels like home sweet home to me.