I just went outside a little earlier than I would have liked because one of my dogs insisted. While I was out there, I looked up and saw the most astounding panoply of stars, meteors, and one satellite. The night sky was beautiful!
The night sky here is glorious when we can see it! Here on the East side of Waimea, there are many nights when the stars are obscured by clouds, but that makes the brilliantly clear nights all the more of a treat. I love to use my Skyview app: https://weloveweather.tv/top-6-astronomy-apps/
There is a reason some of the most powerful telescopes in the world are perched on Mauna Kea, always within view from Waimea. The skies are usually clear at the top of Mauna Kea, and there is much less light pollution here than in many places on the North American continent. While we have winter storms at the summit, the weather is more benign than in many other places that would offer so little light pollution.
Other things I take for granted, but should not:
The quiet. It is 5:13 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and I can hear occasional drops of condensation landing on my porch roof from my house roof, an occasional coqui frog, and my dog chewing on her treat-filled kong bone. That’s it!
The temperature. It is in the high 60’s, both indoors and out. What a lovely temperature it is! As we progress toward fall and winter, the night time temperatures will drop a bit, and it may get as low as the high 40’s at night for a week or two. The days will tend to be clear and warm-they may even reach into the low 80’s. The weather patterns shift in the fall, and our trade winds decrease. That reduces the amount of rain and clouds we have, and results in warm days, and cool, crisp nights.
The friendliness of this place. If you treat people here with respect and kindness, it will be repaid. Smile, and you are extremely likely to receive a smile in return. I believe that sometimes people come from other, pushier, places, and become frustrated with the “courtesy dance” we engage in here. It is true: transactions, even those as simple as whether you turn into traffic first or wait for me, can take more time than they would elsewhere. And if you are the type that wants to always be first, please stay away! You will be miserable here, and you will make everyone around you a little less kind and happy!