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Aloha! It's been a pretty hot few days, with south winds usurping the traditional trades. Yesterday the vog was so bad that our zucchini leaves were actually burned by the sulfuric air. They are a bit shriveled, but I think the plants will live. Doc has been staying cool lounging on the lanai. What a pretty boy, huh?
I planted an avocado tree yesterday. Tomorrow's chore is to add two more coffee trees and another avocado. There are several species of avocado and the fruit at different times of the year. So with any luck, we'll one day have avocados year 'round. Holy guacamole, batman!
I played tennis today with some athletic and talented ladies today. We played indoors at the venerable Edith Kanaka'ole tennis stadium. They are the only covered courts on the island. The surface is rubberized, so is a bit grippy underfoot and the ball comes off pretty fast, making for a bit of a challenge to the reflexes. The lighting is also weird. For some reason, they built the courts so that the sunset shines right in the biggest, open end of the stadium, casting some pretty horrific glare across two of the courts. Still, when it's raining in Hilo for months on end, there's really no place else to play. And it's dirt cheap at $2 per hour per court.
I am not a tall woman. But often here on the island, I feel like a giant. There are lots of petite people here of Asian decent. I'm just not used to being the tallest player on the court. We had fun and my partner Monica and I gave the other two, who have played together as a team for years, a good run for their money.
Vog or no, the hot sun has actually been nice for a couple of days. Of course, it's not hot by mainland standards, where I see on the news that people are dropping like flies from the triple digit heat. Miserable. I'm happy to be here right now, in the relatively cool (if a bit humid) tropics.
Until next time, aloha!

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