Pot pies have been around since ancient Greece and they were called artocreas. These pies had a bottom but no top crust. When the Romans started to make artocreas, they added the top crust.

Days are a bit chilly but are getting longer. However, there is a noticeable spring fever effect when it comes to local gardeners because many fragrant flowering plants start blooming at this time. Also, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner so it is time to shop for gifts.

Muffins for breakfast are always a nice treat for the family. The aroma from the kitchen from warm muffins is a great way to start the day.

Harvesting salt from the sea is a practice that goes back millennia in Hawaii. The Polynesian voyagers likely found crystallized salt collecting in the rocks along the shoreline when they arrived in the islands around 400 A.D. They certainly collected and used it to preserve and season their food.

If you are looking for tough, resilient and useful plants to develop a new landscape or enhance an established one, consider the first introductions by the Polynesians. Then look forward to other introductions by each culture and ethnic group to make our islands their home.

Over the past several months, periods of increased earthquake activity and ground deformation in the summit region of Kilauea volcano indicate that magma is accumulating beneath the surface. Where does magma reside, and how do we know?

Our islands have few dangers except for rare volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and hurricanes. Excessive exposure to the sun can be dangerous, and carelessness can cause accidents while hiking in the mountains or swimming in the ocean. Although there are few poisonous native plants, some common exotic landscape plants are toxic such as oleander, crotons and angel trumpets. Some people can experience skin reactions like exposure to poison ivy from cashew and mango trees.

In January, many folks eat salads and vegetarian items as the eating frenzy that started at Thanksgiving, and continued through Christmas and New Years has people watching their food intake for the beginning of the new year.

Whether they originate above or below the Earth’s surface, a wide array of signals appear on the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s earthquake-detecting (seismic) data streams. Part of a seismic analyst’s duty is identifying normal versus irregular seismic activity.

This year’s avocado defoliation due to the avocado lace bug continues to raise havoc with fruit production. Exposed fruit are quickly sunburned and that affects the quality.