For the benefit of those who may have read along anticipating a similar vacation: Really enjoyed John's recommendation for Sadie Seymour @ Kona Outdoor Circle. It's compact, beautifully landscaped, each climate neatly separated by stone walls and a mere 3 steps down. The labelling could use a bit of up-dating (garden has grown, changed) and we encountered some itchy-biting bugs in the lower part. Bites short-lived. Should others visit, I suggest: 1) Bug spray 2) The address is straight-forward, BUT the entrance is located in the tiny triangle where Kuakini Hwy south-bound meets Rte 11. If you're coming from the south on 11, turn left at Kuakini Hwy, then go left again at bottom of the hill as if to return from where you came. It's on the right, Makai (ocean-side) Mahalo, Ana

You just need to break off a small piece of the dunk, SPF. One little piece will do a container. It will float on top like a bit of cork, and you won't see anything else happening. I've never had one break into granules or get in the pump or filter at all. They've always stayed floating. They release the bacteria and those kill the larva. Yeah, with your raccoons making themselves at home in your yard, babies and all, you'll probably have issues with them in the garden. I know Nicki had some that tore her inground pond apart. They got in it and waded around catching fish, and ripped the liner. So, I guess it's a trade-off. You might be limited in what you can grow or do as long as they are living there. Do be careful though. Raccoons can get really aggressive at certain times of the year (even friendly half-time ones) and can also carry rabies. I'm sure you probably know this, but others might not, so I'm just mentioning it in passing. Marcia

Oh, Sped, what a beautiful picture! She is special! You never know, we had Sara, a gray cat (with a red personality), for 22.5 years, so your pretty gal may have a few summers to go. Like us, you must run a good cat house, lol. PM2 - I WISH I lived near a conserved area. 'Fraid the closest we come is living near a right-wing Lutheran organist, but there are horses across and up the street. Fortunately, Ivy pretty much ignores the birds and has not killed one yet. She favors 4 legged things and the random slithering thing...yuck. Claire? Today I noticed a Blue Jay mimicking a Broad Winged Hawk. Darn thing got me to dash into the house for my camera thinking 'Oh, boy, BW hawk in flight" only to find this B Jay clearing out the bird feeder area with his mimicking. It is effective! Have you had a mimicking Blue Jay? The Broad Winged hawks fly overhead around noon time and shortly thereafter, this Blue Jay mimicks them. Jane

Those of you who are afraid of canning shouldn't be afraid. As long as you always follow all the safety rules and do not deviate from official canning recipes (no changing of any ingredient unless the safety-approved recipe lists allowable changes), the food you can will be safe. People who get into trouble with home-canned foods generally have used canning recipes that were not official safety-approved and safety-tested recipes, or they made the error of using a boiling water bath canner instead of a pressure canner or they decided to freelance and add additional items to safety-approved recipes, which then compromises the safety. Certain foods can be canned in a boiling water bath but others MUST always be canned in a pressure canner. Safety-approved, safety-tested recipes are available on the website of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and also are available on the websites of the companies that make canning supplies. The standard canning book, available at Wal-Mart stores on the canning aisle, is the Ball Blue Book (always use the most up-to-date edition of the BBB because the rules change over time as research indicates changes should be made). Avoid random recipes posted on cooking websites or blogs or even in some magazines unless the recipe can be verified to have come from one of the safe sources. I have seen random canning recipes in some magazine articles that blatantly disobey canning rules. I'm always appalled when I see those and always ask myself "What were they thinking. Inevitably, a correction eventually runs once food preservers see the recipe and contact the magazine to express their displeasure with the publication of an unsafe canning recipe. Once you know and understand all the rules of safe canning, you can tell at a glance if a random canning recipe is safe or not because it will violate the canning rules that you learned. If it isn't a safe recipe, then don't use it. I can around 600-800 jars a year, sharing hundreds of those jars of canned goods with friends and no one (as far as I know) has ever become ill from anything I've canned. I've canned food on my own since the 1980s and canned with my parents as a child in the 1960s and 1970s. The rules we follow when canning foods now are sometimes different than the way our parents or grandparents canned, but that is because more advanced research has shown us how to can more safely. Some practices that were common decades ago no longer are safety-approved in the USA, and you have to change with the times. If you cannot make it to one of Johnny's classes, there are classes offered periodically---often through the Ag Extension Service or sometimes as non-credit continuing ed type classes at colleges and other places. Or, you can learn by watching the videos at the website of the NCHFP. When you have questions you need answered, you can ask the canning experts here at Houzz/Garden Web over on the Harvest Forum. There are many well-experienced food preservers at the Harvest Forum and some of them are Master Food Preservers or are Home Food Preservation instructors who teach canning classes themselves. Canning is a great way to preserve food, but remember that you must have a place to store your home-canned goods and equipment. That can be a big challenge at times. My stuff takes over the pantry and overflows into other rooms of the house. At peak canning time when I am putting up far more food than we can eat on a weekly basis, every bed in our house has plastic storage totes with lids underneath the bed filled with dozens of jars of canned goods. As time goes on, the storage totes are emptied of stored food and then refilled with empty jars awaiting the next canning season.) If there's anything I'd change about our house, I would want a root cellar and a canning pantry solely for all the food that can be root cellared and for all the jars of canned foods. As it is, I have become adept at squeezing home canned foods into every nook and cranny of our house. No closet, cabinet or large drawer is safe when I am tucking jars of canned foods away for storage.