unicorn valley

If you keep driving north on the small road past our little town over a few more one lane bridges right along the ocean, you'll happen upon the most magical place I've ever seen, unicorn valley...

caterpillars and cocoons

For a while we were practically running a caterpillar farm here on Elua Street. It all started when I was teaching first grade last June, the class was learning about insects and got to raise their own caterpillars. I couldn't resist and took home a very tiny caterpillar (they are really darling when they are so small with their little stripes and antennas). But caterpillars can really go through some leaves, so that little catey quickly went through all the food I had.

Caterpillars can only eat a few plants (poisonous ones with milky sap, mainly milkweed) so I drove all around looking for tropical milkweed, the poor guy was starving! Finally I manifested a ton of tropical milkweed at unicorn valley, I literally followed a butterfly to it. (More on unicorn valley later...) I took home heaps of milkweed, which meant that I took home a heap of caterpillar eggs (that's where the butterflies lay them, right on the food source). The cycle went on like this for months. It's really an incredible thing to have all kinds of metamorphosis going on in your kitchen.

eat your heart out christo

The owners of the house next door got tired of their termites.
I've never seen them do this on the mainland but here they wrap a house up in bright rubbery cloth before they put poison inside.
Now I know that it's not really a festive occasion, but something about how a house looks all wrapped up makes everything seem really fun... like a circus party or a jack in the box.


I always loved Christo's wrappings, more the trees than that one gates project.
so dreamy right? they kind of remind me of spider egg sacs though. speaking of cocoons...

so many things...

So many things happened at once (and I've got the pictures to post to prove it), but now the days are back to their normal sneaky, slow then slippery pace.

In the meantime this blog has been utterly neglected, and I'm sorry for that.
To be fair, monsieur blog, our relationship is a little bit complicated and I'm still trying to figure out how exactly we'll work together and why.

It's my second November on Kauai and so, so many things have changed.

One thing is still certain though, in November on Kauai it rains.
Have you ever spent time in a rainy season? Let me just tell you rainy season means rainy rainy rainy days.
They are kind of nice in a tropical dreamy/malaisey way.
They are absolutely perfect for whiling away with a certain small cat.


it's lovely to have something so small and soft fall asleep in your arms.

democracy now!

Barack Obama!
Be still my heart
Change, optimism, progress!
Monsieur it was indeed an honor to put a check by your name.
My fellow prisoners, Barack is hope, VOTE!