Hawaiian Roller-coaster Ride

"Let's all go on a hawaiian roller-coaster ride," is a cute song from Disney's Lilo & Stitch.  I went on just another ride yesterday.  For another field trip for my organic farming class we headed out to Waimanalo.  We first went to the Honolulu Polo Club (yes, horses) and to the university's Waimanalo agricultural research facilities.

When asking the T.A. where we were going, I heard 'polo club' and 'composting' in the same sentence, but the realization of why we were there didn't dawn on me until we pulled into the parking lot.  I saw the horses and then realized: oh of course, horse manure.  The polo club's horses' manure is being used locally into organic compost.  Here is a pretty picture of the view though.  I love just being able to get out and see all the various parts of the island, something I feel fortunate to get to do.

The next stop was UH's agricultural research center in Waimanalo.  It consists of 120 acres of all kinds of research projects going on.  In the macadamia nut tree orchard, there is a bee keeping program, and the byproduct of that is mac-nut honey.  Sounds delicious!
I got to see taro, which is the popular starch and equivalent of potatoes on the island.  There are papaya fields, plumaria flower tree orchard, banana crops, mango crops, and all sorts of other stuff.  It was really fun to see everything!  Hawaiians are probably used to it, but all the crops are so new and foreign to me, I love it!

 This was an interesting project they are working on called aquapodics.  The picture below is of catfish.  They breed catfish and then let them swim in this enclosed pool. The fish poop (which is very rich in nitrogen) then goes through a pipe that waters plants underground to nourish the plants.  The concept was cool.  Cody realized before I did though that all of my field trips seem to be centered around poop. Ha.

 Cody and I had a good conference weekend.  We always pass this large tree with swinging vines, and finally had to gusto to try it.  Next time I'm going to try to get more hang time when I'm not wearing a skirt.

 One thing Cody and I enjoy are evening walks on the beach, or to go there and read for a bit.  Sometimes I forgot how lucky I am to be here in paradise!