April 2026 Journal Photos

Joleen went with us to the Neighborhood Board meeting at the Aina Haina Library Wednesday evening. Andrea spoke about the persistence of Somsack in
the neighborhood.

I played tennis on Thursday the second. Green Diamond Head in the background. My mother would have been 106 today if she were alive.

Steve serving. I held the camera in my right hand and the racket in my left.

The Monterey cypress in a Japanese rectangular pot. The pot is oversize for continued recovery from styling and the planting angle is increased slightly.

Hawaiian native maiapilo are difficult for bonsai. These year old seedlings will be donated for outplanting at the Keawāwa wetland native plant garden.
Maiapilo have large white beautiful exotic flowers.

An artist was painting at the Mission Houses. Photo by Andrea.

This is the shohin procumbens nana juniper that was the subject of a beginner demo in my book Bonsai Hawaiian Style. It has been growing
unrestrained for several years, and now it is ready for the next phase of its bonsai life.

This Brazilian pepper bonsai in a Ryan Greer red pot is ready for the next maintenance activity.

I pruned my clump style bonsai banyan on Friday and photographed it Saturday morning before mowing the lawn.

I am half way through the eight hundred page Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. The New Republic called it "The most profound and
Accomplished American novel since the end of World War II." I have had about enough of the surrealism, but I will finish the book because I
want to know why it is so highly regarded.

Andrea prepared dishes in the afternoon.

Muffin tin potatoes.

After some games of bocce we went inside and served dinner. The girls won one, the boys won one, and the girls were ahead in the third when we got rained out.

Joleen and Lois joined us.

We played several games of Mexican train after dinner. Photo by Andrea.

After the last game.

Paul and Faye watched as I worked on bonsai on Monday morning after breakfast. They took the bus home later.

This NASA photo is reminiscent of the cover of my fourth SF book, Planet of Love.

After pruning. This is the front according to branch placement.

This is the front that shows off the roots better.

Thursday afternoon I took this selfie to show the gauze bandage I made for the skin surgery recovery. The suturing caused inflamation around my eye.

I have cut down the plastic pot and removed dead foliage to see what there is to work with.

There was crafts and collectibles event on the ground floor (every second Saturday).

Lois and Joleen met us on the fifth floor.

They posed for a picture. We were assigned to table 9 with Alan Kam and his wife Thea, and one other (I didn't catch her name).

Nearly 200 people attended. Twenty-two tables with eight at a table. Not crowded at all.

Kedge orchestrated the family picture.

The family picture.

With Lois and Joleen. Photo by Libby.

Joleen and me, photo by Andrea.

There were two photo boards at the sign-in tables.

The great grandchildren performed the lion dance.

Great grandchildren did a Chinese dance.

A hula with grand and great grandchildren.

Betty with Uncle Doug who gave the toast.

In the food line. Everything was delicious.

Uncle Doug giving the second toast. He translated both to English for the majority of us.

In the afternoon I wired the bonsai red cedar. I exposed the nebari and wired all the branches up to the top which I made into jin.

This is a coffee tree in a bonsai pot. Coffees are extremely difficult for bonsai.

I removed all of last year's leaves and wired the tree. Perhaps persistence will pay. I posed the tree with an accent stone for balance.

Update on the bonsai formal upright (chokan) willow leaf ficus after unwiring and pruning on Monday, the 13th.

I have fully wired the willow leaf ficus bonsai with no crossed wires.

Tuesday morning I worked on a croton.

The croton is fully wired with no crossed wires.

I'm seeing these ads, like this one from Facebook, more and more. Soon the market will be flooded with AI slop novels.

Materials were delivered for a construction screen fence at the Kam house. Photo by Andrea.

I talked to Luca afterwards. Photo by Andrea.

That evening I walked outside to test the bird feeder camera's new location near an outdoor solar battery light.

Sally down the street sent this screen grab to Andrea about the TV interview.

My bonsai hau. I pruned it the evening before.

An egret came to watch (sitting on wall).

Metaphotography by Andrea.

Cutting the milo by the stream.

The new birdie cam installation. Photo by Andrea.

I was pleased with how it came out. Photo by Andrea.

I pruned and repotted half a dozen shohin: pink trumpet flower tree, Brazilian pepper, three schefleras, and an autograph tree.

The crape myrtle after pruning. I removed it from the pot to get a look at the tangled roots. They will be improved by pruning.

After wiring and repotting. John Naka told me that when you are growing bonsai, you are really growing roots. Karenn Ohlinder oval pot, 2001, number 6.

I played tennis in the morning while Andrea had a cruise ship tour at Mission Houses.

Patrick serves to Aiko. There were just the three of us so we played singles in rotation.

Just two people from Mānoa this time.

Corinthian design on the Territorial building.

We ate bento dinners with Earl and his wife.

Over 60 people attended.

Edna Allyn was the first librarian in Hawaiʻi.

Andrea had duty at the hale pili at the Mission Houses on Saturday for the annual meeting of the descendants.

I worked on my bonsai aʻaliʻi Sunday morning. It has been growing in this plastic pot for less than a year.

The aʻaliʻi after defoliation.

The view from above. I will move some branches to fill gaps.

After partial wiring.

The view from above. Some gaps have been filled. The lower branches are too long and will be shortened at the next styling.

During intermission I photographed the Kennedy Theater auditorium.

After the show we encountered our artist friend Devin who was in the area to look at art exhibits.

The striking architecture of the Kennedy Theater.

The East-West Center is across the road from the theater.

The ʻōhiʻa ʻāi bonsai after defoliation. The petioles are left in place. ʻŌhiʻa ʻāi is a Polynesian introduction to Hawaiʻi.

The ʻōhiʻa ʻāi is fully wired with 2 and 3 mm aluminum bonsai wire with no crossed wires.

I transplanted the ʻōhiʻa ʻāi to this oversize circular Japanese growing pot where it will remain for, perhaps, two years.

Sensei George gave a talk on bonsai with junipers.

I take a stand against AI in the arts, et cetera.

I played tennis on Tuesday morning, the 28th. Karen serves to June.

Patrick and Steve watch from the bench.

Aiko serves.

Andrea joined us after shopping in Mānoa Marketplace.

I transplanted the shohin juniper into a Japanese ceramic pot and bleached the jin with lime sulfur.

This is a follow-up photograph of the shakan aʻaliʻi bonsai.

Aʻaliʻi arriving.

Aʻaliʻi departing.