Thursday, May 03, 2007

the one that got away......

Lance got it into his head that we needed a motorcycle. hey, ya only live once. This is a Honda hornet 919 - what a beaut! super powerful, HUGE - and my favorite color! Of course everything we read on this bike said it was TOO MUCH BIKE. Lance hadn't ridden in over 20 years, but we were undaunted. He went ahead and got his learners permit - you can't buy a bike here until you pass the drivers test and have your license. Then he went back to the dealership to practice on their little bike - just a 125, so he could get the feel of riding again. This little bike would also be the one he took his test with. By this time we had decided that the 919 WAS too much bike - especially since the reviews said that even the racers loved the 599, and it's throttle was less sensitive and safer, yet it could race and cruise with the best of them.

This is the 599. It only comes in black and only weighed 24 lbs less than the 919.
Then, last night, lance dreamt about the bike...and he slept uneasy.
This morning he (we) decided that maybe riding a high performance motorcycle on a tiny island with only one main road and where it rains everyday and the highway is filled with tourists and manic drivers, was probably not a very sane idea.
Lance has wanted a bike for a long time...he wants me to get one too. (yeah, right, I can barely
drive a car...) ...but we will put this dream on hold - at least until we move where there are wide open spaces and drier weather....

Roses lance brought me ...just because!
Today was mowing day. While I was out in the back picking up fallen palm fronds from the palm forest so we could mow, I came across this, on the lawn.

COOL, huh? I believe it is a Walking Stick, but it is the first time ever that I have seen one in Hawaii. It could fly! He can fan fold the papery wings very skinny. I watched him outstretch his front legs and put them up beside his very long antennae, so he looked more stick like.

Here he is with a partial wing open - imitating part of a leaf?

....and one more - showing all of him. He was about 4 1/2 inches long.
Today I also got my "Chunky Bird Book" back. This book is unbelievable. 30 artists participated and it turned out spectacular. Thank you Kathy McElroy!

The cover is by Darya Smith. Go to Kathy's blog site to see all of the bird pages!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Connie,

I love the pictures of the walking stick. I'm sorry about not getting the motorcycle of Lance's dreams, but I think it may be a good thing to wait until you live on the mainland (although, it may be that Oregon is full of maniac drivers and it rains a lot there, too. It's really cool that you went that far back with Lance's family. What about your relatives?
Joanne

Kathy McElroy said...

I love walking sticks. I don't see them very often but when I do I get excited. They are so cool. Thanks for sharing.
~k`