hawaii is

verdant.

It is very lush. Even in a "drought" one's eyes never cease swimming a sea of green.

fertile.

Everything grows. Everything. Including mold on my bicycle's bar tape.

And bountiful*.

There is fruit rotting on the side of the road. EVERY road. For instance, the other day I was invited to a young couple's home for dinner. So I grabbed a couple of cheeses out of the creamery and very carefully left them behind on my kitchen table. But no worry - this is HAWAII! On my ride over I simply scanned the roadside for fruit pulp (damn cars), espied some gravelly guacamole, and stopped to collect avocados. I found three that looked pretty smart and voila! I was again a considerate guest. (I also had a quick snack of guava, and snagged some lemons around the next bend).

...What is this "winter" of which I keep hearing? I remember it, as if a dream.


*I'm sorry if this word inspires in you visions of a sprawling suburban backwater. My intentions were to evoke "plenty" and "springtime" not "minivans" and "strip-malls."