Easter 2024 has passed but like the Easter lily you received, it may be resurrected after appearing dead. Easter reminds us that life is a cycle of what appears to be death and rebirth. In cooler climates, it is what we learn by observing plants that go dormant in the winter only to sprout anew in the spring. Bulbs like crocus and daffodils are examples.

Seeing lots of beautiful pua kenikeni lei in Hilo for Merrie Monarch, is encouragement to grow my own. You too might want to consider growing this lovely, delicate and very fragrant flower in your garden.

Yes, I have a weakness for knives. When I see a knife that looks interesting, odds are that I will purchase it. I have been to many knife and sword shops in Japan, just intrigued at the craftsmanship in knife making. My son is the same way, so we have a collection of knives for every possible use: a sashimi, citrus, bread, several chef’s, several paring, a couple of bird beak, utility, boning, santoku and nakiri knives.

What has the Easter Bunny and eggs have to do with Easter? The return of Jesus after the crucifixion has little to do with bunnies and eggs. However, the concept of rebirth and resurrection was based on the pagan holiday of Eostra that celebrated new life and fertility. Early Christians connected the two events and thus we celebrate with joy rather than sorrow.

Sweet bell peppers, or Capsicum annum, have a deceiving name because although they are peppers, they have zero SHU, or Scoville Heat Units.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday and is celebrated by Christians world wide. It is said to be the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey to celebrate Passover. He was greeted by a great crowd acclaiming him by waving date palm branches and shouting ”Hosanna,” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

In 2012, steam began to rise from beneath the cracked concrete of a telecommunication station at the summit of Pico Basile volcano on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, in western Africa. The steaming lasted several days and extended to two nearby summit craters.

Today is the first day of spring, marking the vernal equinox. The sun crosses the celestial equator going south to north. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres receive roughly equal amounts of sunlight; neither hemisphere is tilted more toward or away from the sun than the other.

For some superstitious folks, “Beware The Ides Of March,” a quote from Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar,’ brings a sense of foreboding. Searching history, you can find yourself going down the rabbit hole seeking where it all started.

On the Island of Hawaii, frequent eruptions foster a close relationship between the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency. HVO monitors the active volcanoes and their associated hazards; HCCDA alerts and protects communities from impacts of volcanic events. This relationship, between volcano observatories and their emergency managers, was highlighted at the recent “Cities on Volcanoes” meeting in Antigua, Guatemala.

When Whendi Grad met Garnett Puett in 1981 at the University of Washington art school, she didn’t know he was from a family of Hawaiian beekeepers. Whendi was studying textile design. Garnett was studying sculpture. They moved to New York City in 1983 and began pursuing careers as artists there.

Since we live in a multicultural place with a great variety of climatic and geographic expressions, we can create almost anything in our gardens. Orchids, bromeliads and other epiphytes and lithophytes are perfect for gardens lacking in soil. We also have an abundance of lava rock!