A RAINY DAY- NEWLY CERTIFIED LADIES-HOT WATER- EGGS AND CHICKENS-MEDALI-SPECIAL FISH-SHARK BITE- CONSOLIDATING DIVE SITES-HONIARA-MELANESIAN GEO-CONSERVATION MEETING-HEADSTART-BOOKINGS

Hello, Everyone, Whew! A busy and varied month! Today has been one of those rainy days ( yes, it does rain here- it's what keeps things so green and food on the table) that induces one to cook and bake. I treated those of my staff who were around at lunchtime to SSD Soup, and Evah and I experimented with pumpkin scones and bran muffins with raisins and Gnale nuts. MMMM! I had better give most of it away, or I shall blossom like our pumpkins. A great evening to get back in touch with everyone. It also motivated a long time project- actually learning how to print photosheets on our big copier, and getting our small Kodak photo printer up and running. I have actually been playing with photo editing- major steps forward for this techically challenged individual.

Sept. 5 was a truly banner day. Evah, Hata and Irean were finishing their OW classes; we'd surfaced from our last ascents in the outer lagoon, and I noticed a raft of seaweed nearby. I pulled it over- and looked- and looked- and sure enough, one of the loveliest Sargassum frog fish I have ever seen was hidden in the weed. My ladies were enchanted- and the guys are EXTREMELY jealous that they missed it. Reliance finished her class the following week- and we are celebrating. They have been playing the roles of newly certified American tourists ( Barbara, Mary, Sara, and Martha- all from Hawaii!!!) so my Divemasters will have someone to practice on. They are all gaining substantial experience, and I am enjoying a great many laughs. Debriefings have been excellent, as my DM's discover the difficulties of watching a new diver's buoyancy, air, bottom time, etc., while diligently showing them the treasures of the reef.

Peter Vagala has earned gold stars for finally and ingeniously getting our "problem child" hot water tanks up and functioning!! We now have HOT showers after diving and on rainy days- it's been pretty busy out there today- AND hot water in my kitchen. A milestone. And Reliance's Kokorako business is going great guns- or should I say- eggs! With 27 hens, we are getting plenty of eggs to eat and sell; we lost our first batches of chicks to overzealous mother hens (not brightest animals on the planet) and rats- our predator-proof pen needs s bit of work. We are learning. Our chickens are all local and we feed them a homemade diet of fish, rice, grated coconut, papaya, sweet potato, etc. The eggs are truly organic, and delicious.

Beka Beka HS was hosting a soccer tournament, and our teams were looking for entry fees- so I engaged them for a cherished project- cutting a shoreline trail all the way to Medali Beach, with benches strategically placed for losing oneself in the placid scenery in the lagoon, or the ever rolling surf on the southern coast. The pups and I eagerly hiked the new trail- safe for virtually anyone now- all the way to to the far end of majestic Medali- to discover amzing cave and rock formations- one huge wall with a perfect egg-shaped window. It is not quite finished, but definitely usable!

This has been a month not of exploring new dive sites, but of consolidating those we know and discovering how to dive a site for the maximum scenery and marine life presentation. It has resulted in sightings of many new fish to us, and at least one new species discovery. Dellington Bare photographed a species of goby that we could not come close to in our books. We sent it to Dr. John Randall, who sent it on to Dr. Rick Winterbottom, the expert on trimma, who declared it to be an undiscovered species. We are all VERY proud, and are all on the hunt for our own personal species. Cuttlefish and lionfish have been plentiful- I think that, like our octopus in Hawaii- we will see them frequently during their breeding seasons.

Last Monday evening I was just starting to do my dishes, when Robert, from Wilderness arrived; from his excited speech I could only catch- Corey- Kicha- bite! I dropped everything and grabbed all of my first aid stuff, and headed for Corey and Waelinah's house. Corey had been spearfishing (freediving) at one of our favorite spots off Kicha Island, and was having one of the best experiences of his diving career- so much so that he pushed his luck and stayed into dusk, a colossal no-no he is the first to admit; he had a giant trevally on his spear, when a gray reef shark mistook his leg for the GT- and munched. It was not a pretty sight; the top of the left thigh was completely torn open, the outer,lower thigh marked with 22 perfect toothmarks- like razor cuts- ranging from a 1/4" to an inch. Corey was incredibly lucid and functional. John Wood, his boat driver, had been amazing at handling the emergency and shock that followed. I cleaned the wound as best I could, dressed it, and loaded Corey with anti-biotics and pain killers. During most of this, Corey was on the phone arranging for his evacuation by chopper first thing in the morning. A week later, Corey is out of the hospital, still in Honiara, waiting for enough tissue to grow back so they can close the wound- and chomping at the bit to get home and back in the water.

On Thurs. I flew to Honiara to sign final paper work for our incorporation and clear up some loose ends. It was a whirlwind, but highly successful trip of meetings and shopping; I got to visit Corey and catch up with friends- and purloin a stack of the magazine MELANESIAN GEO featuring a full article on us and our divers. My gang are all thrilled- they are famous.

Patrick Pikacha, a Solomon Island terrestrial biologist, writer and blossoming publisher is the main driver of this project- a highly talented young man I am privileged to call friend.

Yesterday I attended my first real conservation meeting, Marovo style. Over

50 chiefs, elders and interested citizens from Gatokae and Vangunu gathered at Wilderness Lodge for a meeting spearheaded by a group from University of Queensland, whhich has a 3 year grant from MacArthur Foundation to assist conservation projects in Marovo Lagoon. It was an invigorating experience for me, after

30 years of seemingly endless banging our heads against the walls fighting for the obvious need to protect a disappearing resource in Hawaii, to hear chiefs standing up and saying "We have overfished ( this in an environment with at least 30 times Hawaii's richness), what can we do?? Can you help us??" Chief Lutten of Mbili, who many of you know from Bilikiki/ Spirit trips, has- completely on his own- set aside a substantial MPA in his area.

It was a great day of positive energy, renewing old acquaintances, making new ones, and let me not forget the excellent catering and food by Wilderness staff.

And our Head Start is in the process of being legally registered as a SI school; our teachers continue to do an excellent job! AND- the good news- though our boat is not full- we have bookings straight through from Oct.- Jan. We are definitely on our way! And that's it for the month's nius.

Take care all and have a wonderful month.