Page 54 of Big Island Sunrise
“You resurrected John’s garden!” Tara called over the fence.
“I’m trying to.” Emma wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her arm as she walked across the yard.
“Do you want some starts? I always get overexcited and start way more seeds than I need. I have about a dozen tomato plants outgrowing their pots because I ran out of room in my garden.”
“That would be great, thank you.”
“Stay right here, I’ll go grab them.”
She came back a few minutes later with a tray full of tomato plants, each about six inches tall. Emma held the tray carefully, accepting it over the top of the fence.
“Thank you so much.”
“I’m just happy to get them in the ground. I need to expand my garden, but the animals keep me so busy I just can’t find the time.” She looked at the long mounds of clean dirt and the mountain of weeds that she’d removed. “You did a great job.”
“I probably should have started with the orchard, but it’s so overwhelming. How do I get rid of that cactus grass?”
“You mean the razor grass?”
“I don’t know, is that the same thing?”
“Let me take a look.”
Tara came around through the gate and they walked together to the orchard, where Emma pointed out the head-high grass that had filled her palm with fiberglass-like spines.
“Yeah, that’s the stuff,” Tara said. “Just wear gloves and cut it. Goats love it.”
“They eat it? Really?”
“Yeah, goats will even eat blackberry brambles. But this stuff makes great fodder, that’s why it was introduced. You could let the goats into the orchard to eat it, but you’ll have to stay on top of them to make sure they don’t get the fruit trees. I usually just cut and carry it. My cow loves it.”
“You have a cow?” Emma exclaimed.
Tara chuckled. “Yeah, you haven’t heard her? She’s out on the back lot with the sheep. And her baby, of course.”
“How do you do it?”
“It never ends, but I love it. I should get back to it. I have about ten more things I want to get done while the girls are at their friend’s house.”
“Thanks again for the tomatoes.”
“Get them in the ground today if you can. They’re overdue for a transplant. You know to bury most of the stem, right? Just leave a few inches above ground.
“I’ll do that, thanks.”
She went back to the garden and set out the gifted starts, giving each tomato plant plenty of room and a tall branch that she could tie it to as it grew. Then she looked all around the garden for her trowel, but she couldn’t find it anywhere.
“Kai, have you seen my little hand shovel?” She straightened up and looked around. “Kai?”
She tried again on the walkie talkie, but he didn’t respond there either.
The twins were gone for the day, and Rory was off at ‘Olena’s daycare, so it worried her when he didn’t respond. She went looking for him and found him in the green fort that the kids had made amongst the bushes and vines. He was holding a small kitchen knife and sat looking down at a dead lizard.
“Kai!” She exclaimed. “What are you doing?”
He started and then stared up at her. “Science.”
“What?”
