Today started at 5 a.m. We had to be at the helicopter place at 6, so that Don, Davy, and Susan could make their 7 a.m. flight around the island. No way I was going. So, I slept in the car while they went. After they got back from their flight we went into Kona and ate breakfast, then did the tourist thing around Kona, got groceries and headed for Hapuna Beach. When we got there, we were pleased that the parking lot wasn’t full. Then as we got closer we wondered why the grassy spot up by the dressing rooms was full of people laying out on mats. Then we got down to the beach and it was nearly empty. When we put our mats down, we figured it out: the wind was nearly brutal! The only way to keep the mat down was to lie on it and then sand got all over you from the wind. We had our lunch and we were determined, so we took our mats over to a nook protected by lava and sat there and ate. Then Davy went out into the water even though he has pneumonia! Don and I took our walk down the empty beach and Davy took this picture. Susan kindly suggested that a good way to win friends and influence people is to take a picture from far away on the beach, so I can really use this picture! Notice that it is a beautiful day but there is nobody there except Don and I! These winds are called Kona winds and they are something else! After we fought with the wind for a couple of hours (we are so stubborn), we left and went by two of our whale watching beaches and saw great, huge waves, but no whales. We did see whales breaching at Hapuna Beach, though and all along the ocean as we drove up the highway. It was just too rough to tell the difference between a wave and whale activity at our little beaches.
We couldn’t believe our eyes when we got home, though. The winds had knocked down more citrus than we could count! Don and Susan had to get out and move it so that we could get in the driveway! They picked it up while I unloaded the car. When I counted 4 5-gallon buckets of grapefruit and another 5-gallon bucket of oranges and Don said that was only HALF of them, I almost fainted! I was thinking I’d have to juice them all and where would I put the juice??? I thought of the girl who painted the house and called her and asked if she could use some. She said she’d love to have some and if we had more than we could use she’d give them to folks who come to her house for Bible study on Wednesday nights. She said if there were more than they could use, she’d take the rest to the food pantry in Waimea. Praise the Lord! I so want them to be used and enjoyed and she knows how to make that happen. Se, we’re taking them to her tomorrow on our way to Waipio Valley. Here’s some of the collection. I called the Avon lady and she came and took a 5-gallon bucket full away. The trunk of the car is FULL of grapefruit going to Waimea tomorrow morning.
Not only did the wind blow down a bunch of citrus, but it blew down a big limb off one of the trees on the property. This picture shows the limb that is down. You can see Davy’s shirt; he’s behind the limb on the left sawing like a madman. Don is behind the limb pulling with all his might on the limb, so that Davy could get to the part that was holding it hanging. I don’t know what we would have done if Davy wasn’t here to be the lumberjack! Davy was sawing with one of those pruners with a saw on it. We had the ladder out, but that didn’t get him up tall enough. Notice the wind blew the ladder over. Notice the pile of limbs from other trees that Don picked up around the yard. The wind has been blowing ever since we got home, too, so there will be more out there to pick up tomorrow morning. I juiced 40 oranges tonight. I’m beat. All of us are, but that juice is really good. God believes in abundance! I thank Him for the juice, the strength, and our company . . . for starters!
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