Are you doing what you love?

I love Kanaha, it's full of characters and kindness. Here's Phoebe with her impressive solo performance of the Isle of Man flag.

 Good call for a quick air dry - no one likes the second session in a wet wetsuit.

Some like it Hot, but if you need to cool off just head up the mountain.

Which is exactly what I did a few hours later, driving up a few thousand feet above sea level to Keokea Park. A soft rain fell and the fog hugged the trees as I took a seat opposite Pema to play with the band. Fred was on vocals and lead uke, Charles on bass guitar and Stuart on mandolin and fiddle. It was all very casual and using Pema as my mirror, I simply followed along feeling and flowing with the groove.  It was a complete joy to play with them and a total bonus to let it rip in the great outdoors.

The same can be said of the next days activities. 'Come as Ulli' was the remit on the downwinder invite for the big man's birthday. True to form the only people that did were Meesh (all that fur seems to be rubbing off)......

.......and me!

Mad dogs and Englishmen (all present and correct).

Ulli doing an impersonation of himself impersonating Mickey Eskimo.

1000 peaks has been blown out a lot lately so my new surfing spot is woodies. It's all very tropical - you just hop over the concrete barricades (yes that did used to be the road) and there you are.

Perfection.

I often ask myself "are you doing what you love"? Within the constraints work (which I like, but binds me to a desk) my answer is nearly always "yes". That being said, there's a lot room for improvement, it's an internal upping of the ante in regards to stepping out of my own personal comfort zone. If ever I need a little inspiration Kepa Acero is fully tapped in, turned on and tuned in to his life. In this clip he found a kindred spirit , so enjoy these two men who are reveling in the bliss of living lives that they love.

This and that.

As I sat in my office, this big fat cloud line rolled in and stretched all the way up to my house. This shot was taken with my iphone and using Instagram....I've got to learn more about the app before I pass judgement - but not a bad start.

Same day - heading home, as I sat in my truck this big fat cloud line rolled in and stretched all the way across the west Maui mountains. This shot was taken with my G11 and it passed the test years ago!

The bits for the birds looked almost as good as the bits I used to make a scrumptious dinner.

It wasn't my birthday, but it felt like it in the hat.

Black light, white teeth.

After my early morning surf sessions, this is always my reward (Instagram jobby).

Despite the warning, my soft shoulders strayed off road.... no fruit bowl and latte reward for that.

Wailea at dusk, the film festival delivered magically again this year.

I pass this sugar mill twice a day during the week, but rarely at night and was drawn to the 'flashlight under the chin' affect on the green barn.

A nice bit of symmetry and more subdued tones in Kahului.

Ahhhhh but five minutes from my house, nature always wins by getting the architecture, design and color right every time.

It's been a while.

I love the late afternoon tranquil light of upcounty Maui.


Oddly these deep orange/gold/yellow blooms belong to the Silver Oak tree!

I was coming out of Rodeo General when across the street this late night barrel caught my eye.

The Google Street View car has been roaming the Island again. I snapped it as it sat like a sleeping giant at the Hawaiian Canoe Club Hale, it felt sinisterly dormant.

In coming off the water this week I couldn't help but ask this lady about her waterproof gallery. I got totally caught up in looking at all the photo's as she explained some of the magical and important moments in her life.

Talking of magical moments-Ulli's latest antics have become legendary. He just doesn't bloody care. While the rest of us were catching up, Ulles sits down and doesn't see a roof, but a diving board opportunity. It didn't take long for the harness line engineering to ascend said diving board to begin.

Roof divers and paparazzi at the ready.

I'm not sure who was more excited, Ulli for his flawless flying mangina performance or Brook for capturing the moment so perfectly!

And lets not forget Michelle's incredible flat footed back flip and this from a girl with a fear of heights!

Then there was this weeks Fabio meet and greet......absolute farking genius. While other stood in line for who knows what reason, Ulli's mission to take the piss was very clear!

On another note entirely, take the time to watch this audio slide show from Timothy Allen, the only still photographer on the BBC's Human Plant, it's stunning stuff. Peace - out.

Even I was ready for a new post.

So the left tree asks the right tree, "dude, how do I get on to the Internet"? The right tree answers, "you log in dummy"!

Whilst on the woody perennial plant theme, unbelievably it's jacaranda season again. They are such majestic beauties and with the lush fields and moody clouds of upcountry as a backdrop, their color really jumps out.

As did these sun beams on my way home from work Friday night.

Despite having a closet in my house where everything goes to die, I don't consider myself a pack rat. However, the amount of shit I gathered for my garage sale this weekend would dispute that fact. I'll be honest, I was embarrassed at the amount of stuff that surfaced, that being said the $580 I made getting rid of it helped ease my shame!

There's a new kit in town....Cleopatra, who belongs to my neighbors. I joke with my tenants that they can have cats so long as they don't meow (nothing more annoying) and shockingly, neither of the two compound cats utters a word, purrrrrfect.

Last week as I drove by the harbor to check out the swell, I felt actual sadness at what I saw. My favorite buoy washed up and rendered useless, all naked and vulnerable, one can only assume by the tsunami surge. I'm crossing my fingers it will be back in its rightful and dignified place soon.

On your marks....

get set.....

Go!

Purple, yellow and pearl.

I passed a woman sitting...or rather posing under a blooming Jacaranda wearing all purple and having her photograph taken. "That's quite the effort" I thought as I drove by, but these stunning trees spark the imagination and make people do wacky shit like that.

These buses are not quite so majestic or quirky, but they are quintessentially American, which is what I always think when I drive by them. On weekends, they're parked above the grassy, flower filled graveyard of St.Joseph's church and I pass them on my way to ride in the Makawao Forest.

My hands want to grab the top of the buses (I can instantly feel the texture of the windows on my finger tips) and run them along the ground like Matchbox Cars.

Instead let me grab some thing a little more satisfying!

Oh the delicious and novel joy of being able to grab handfuls of pearls and feel them rolling around like ball bearings in the palms of your hands. If you went into a stuffy old jewelry store you could never do some thing as yummy and unconventional as this (or at least I couldn't!). Luckily our Tahitian Pearl source let us giddily grope her wares before deliriously buying one bracelet too many.

Meesh making a considered choice.

Of course not all of us need such extravagant accoutrement's, case in point....pup on park bench with bottle cap accessory.

Sea-horses.

Over the weekend I SUP'ed in the harbor. It contains three buoy's and I usually hang out by the third one, furthest away from these cement pylons=weakest wave. Despite the 30ft swells further up the coast the ripples in to the harbor didn't even make it to buoy #3. So I moved up to #2 and had it all to myself, until I was joined by a woman in a one man canoe (now there's an oxymoron). We paddled out and rode in on the small stuff with clock work regularity, until the wind picked up and spoiled everything. Though all was not lost as I went home and took a big fat nap-excellent Sunday behavior.

While I was on my two wheels I ran into these beautiful four leggeds.

Now here's something you don't see that everyday.....

I spy with my little eye something beginning with S.

What's not to love about yellow bamboo with green stripes?!

And finally the last few days has seen the Island weather a bit moody. There's no doubt it's easier to handle such meteorological petulance when the default is a sunny disposition.