They call the wind…..

…..Makani.

Having spent the better parts of our lives in colder places, it is quite disconcerting to listen to the wind here.  When the trades are REALLY blowing, the wind whistles through the windows, sounding for all the world like the blizzard winds we have been used to in northern Nevada….

….except…

….the wind blows….the trees shake……the cane grass bends over….the white caps dance across the ocean surface…..

….and it is 75 degrees. Rainy…maybe 70.  Sunny….maybe 80. Darkness….maybe 65.

When we lived in Arizona, we were used to the “cringe.”  While in a building or car, subject to ambient air conditioning, we did indeed cringe when entering into the desert heat.  Similarly, in Nevada, the cringe was more likely due to the cold that struck us in the face when leaving a building.

And so, we still have that “cringe” reflex here when walking out of a building, or while listening to the wind howl.

But the bark of the fair wind, makani ʻoluʻolu, is much worse than its bite….