Kauai 2012: Feeding time at Bubba's

As was the case on one of our visits last year, today's lunch at Bubba's Restaurant involved feeding more than just ourselves. However, this time around just one bird dared come close enough to take a fry out of one of our hands: one of the ubiquitous Red Junglefowl that wander all over Kauai like crows do back in Vermont.

We've had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the bird this year, since, as I mentioned in my Grove Farm flowers post, during our first week or so the birds that roosted nearby decided that the hour between 3 and 4 a.m. was a fine time for their first vocalizations of the morning—and did so pretty much on a daily basis. After discussing possible solutions ranging from use of a shotgun filled with bird shot (much to my brother's dismay, the waiting period made this particular option a last resort) to lobbing water balloons at them. But since we kept forgetting to purchase balloons when we were in town, Greg finally got fed up enough that one night he just went outside and threw coconuts at them (important note: no chickens were harmed during the duration of our vacation). The next night, he used a broom to beat the bushes and make sure none were settling in to sleep too close by. 

The rooster we saw today at Bubba's, though, had apparently not yet gotten wind of Greg's fearsome reputation, as after some hesitation it first came close enough to take a few fries from my hand, and then from his. He photographed the rooster eating from my hand for his collection of vacation pics, and I, as you can see, then got some shots of it grabbing a fry from Greg's:

Getting closer...

Almost there...

Success!!

And while this Zebra Dove wasn't interesting in taking food from us directly, it had absolutely no qualms about hopping up on the table to snag crumbs right off of our plates while the four of us were all still sitting right there. Good thing we were finished eating, huh?

Kauai 2012: I cannot tell a lie...

...it was my brother Greg who chopped down our neighbor Don's banana tree. With his blessing, of course:

All it requires is a machete, an apron if you're wearing decent clothes, and a bit of patience:

From a different angle:

Thar she goes...

As Don and Dad looked on, Greg cut the banana bunch off the tree—he told us he was pretending his target was any one of the chickens that like to wake us at 4 a.m.:

Greg auditioning for the next Saw sequel:

And a bit more relaxed (The apron Greg's wearing is the name of our friend Don's longtime family farm and business, The Farmer's Daughter):

Don shows Greg how to hang the banana bunch up to dry as Dad supervises:

Cutting off a bunch to take back to our place:

Do I have something on my face?

Finally, Greg with the fruits of his labors—pun most definitely intended:

Holiday fun

As is our tradition, Greg and I slept over at our parents' house Christmas Eve; this year my grandmother stayed the night as well, and it was very nice to be able to spend some extra time with her. Once we were all upright and ambulatory this morning, we headed into the living room to exchange gifts between the five of us. Ultimately, though, it was the sixth member of our group who ended up being the center of my photographic attention. Because if there's one thing that Kaylee loves, it's unwrapping her presents:





I'd like to say this shot happened naturally, but in truth Greg collected Kaylee's loot and placed it at her feet so I could take a picture of her with her new toys:



Since we had Thanksgiving over at my aunt's this year, our Christmas gathering happened at my parents' house today (next year Thanksgiving will be at Mom and Dad's and Christmas at my aunt's). So in the afternoon the five of us were joined by my aunt Bonnie and Uncle Bill; Bill's brother Phillip; my cousins Emily, Katie, and Anne; Anne's husband Dimitri; my aunt and uncle's Corgi, Molly; and Anne and Dmitri's yellow Lab, Butter. And as was the case earlier in the day, the dogs pretty much stole the show.

Butter got a bit of wrapping paper stuck to her lip:



While Molly snuck around checking out everyone's presents:



Since Butter's not quite yet mobile after leg surgery a few months ago, Kaylee worried that my cousin Annie might be lacking in doggie kisses:



However, as my aunt later demonstrated, as long as you get down to her level Butter does just fine:



Butter's thinking "What on earth is she making that face for?"



Molly found it all very amusing:



My cousins Katie (sitting upright) and Emily:



My grandmother as she listened to the ongoing conversation:



And my grandmother upon realizing the dog toy she'd just had tossed to her was a bit slimy:



Finally, one last shot of Kaylee to bring today's post to an end:

My bubbles

Earlier today Mom called to see if I wanted to stop by after work this evening. She and Dad had invited Melissa and the boys, Jared, Nathan, and Kyle, over for dinner, as my cousin Mike is out of town for the weekend—my folks figured she could use a bit of a breather from having to watch all three of them by herself.

By the time I arrived at the house Mom was already busy making bubbles, much to the amusement of the kids. Naturally, I shared in their fascination and delight, and immediately pulled out my camera and started clicking away.

I chose this photo to kick things off because I really liked how the bubble looked against Mom's flower garden:



In this shot you can still see the outline of a bubble that had just popped, as well as the resultant spray of liquid; that's Melissa walking by in the background:



A couple of shots of Kyle, who obviously got a big kick out of watching and chasing the bubbles:





Thought this was an interesting shape:



The late afternoon sun provided the golden hue to this bubble:



Kyle and Jared watching the bubbles go by:



Again, I just thought this was pretty cool:



As Mom created an impressively long strand of bubbles, Dad managed to grab Nathan just before he got his hands on the tray containing the soapy liquid she was using:



Don't you just hate it when the bubble pops right in your face?



Finally, our usual closing shots of Kaylee:

Splish splash

Tonight I stopped by Mom and Dad's on the way home for dinner; also joining us were Mike, Melissa, Jared, Kyle, and Nathan, as today was Melissa's birthday. While today it seemed slightly less humid, it was still extremely warm out from dawn 'til dusk. Mom came up with the idea of running one of their sprinklers for the boys to run around in; why we adults didn't elbow them out of the way and do the same is, in retrospect, a bit of a puzzler...

At first, Nathan wasn't too sure about the sprinkler:



Neither was Jared:



But it didn't take long for them to start having a grand old time:











I know that they're brothers, but it still amazed me a little when I saw how very similar their expressions were in these two shots:





Kyle, meanwhile, did briefly check things out:



But he was way more interested in walking around, checking out the other toys, and trying to figure out how to eat from two containers of Goldfish simultaneously:





My folks picked up one of those large bubble wands, so Mom opened it up and gave it a try—mostly as another way to distract Kyle:



However, I suspect the one who got the most distracted by the bubbles was... well, me. They were just so pretty and shiny...



I like how in this one the reflection makes it seem as if the wand is bleeding into the bubbles:





In this one you can see a bit of spray towards the top, the result of the bubbles that popped as the wand moved along:



I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this one, as I'd had no idea I'd gotten such a clear shot of one of the bubbles. On the left half, you can see a reflection of part of the house, Mom, and even a very distorted look at Melissa holding the orange wand; on the right half you see that same image, only mirrored and inverted. Very cool:



Finally, the one and only shot I managed to get of Kaylee this evening. She's had a tough time of it these past few days, and not just because of the heat. The poor girl got stung by a wasp yesterday, and the deerflies harass her relentlessly whenever she's outside—in fact, there's one sitting on her head in the photo:



Between the two of us, I'd say Dad and I killed 10-12 deerflies during the hour or so we were outside, and I saw Kaylee snap at and get at least 3 others. Really, this humidity can't end soon enough for any of us.