January 29, 2025
There is quite a selection of birds coming to the feeder. There are at least two Northern Red Cardinal males along with their female mates. I have yet to see any of the other genders though!
I’m not too sure what kind of bird this is. They used to stay in the hedge along the side of the property, but this trip, they have begun venturing to the feeder and the water fountain, They are smaller than the Red Headed Cardinals, and I haven’t been able to identify any as pairs. Maybe they are all of one of those other genders!
This guy is what I call a Hawaiian HoneyCreeper. They typically arrive in a flock of six or eight. At one time, I counted at least 16 of them together in the feeder, on the lanai, at the fountain, or in the trees above the lanai.
It is not uncommon to see three or four in the feeder at one time.
I started working on the shower area outside the bathroom. The first chore is to remove the rocks down to below the floor elevation of the bathroom. A small electric jackhammer is just the right tool for this.
But first. I have to shovel away the loose dirt and small rocks.
January 30, 2025
Today, I drove to downtown Na’alehu and left the truck in the parking lot of the commercial center across from the hardware store. Then, I caught the bus into Kona to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. I need to get a copy of the registration so I can get the annual safety inspection. I need to have the physical paper registration for this inspection. You need the current inspection to register the vehicle. I cannot find the little piece of paper that you keep in your vehicle. But, no problem, it is all computerized and contained in the DMV’s computer system. For a $5 fee, they will print me a copy. I could even request one to be mailed to me by sending in a request with the $5, and within two or three weeks, I’ll get the copy! The registration expires at the end of February, so I cannot wait for two or three weeks.
Anyway, I call the DMV office and get their AI recording – no human. It directs me to their kiosk at a local grocery store, and to their website. The kiosk at the grocery store is around the corner from the DMV office, so if I go to the kiosk, I might as well go to the office. The website tells me that I need to have an appointment to visit the DMV, (it also says that you do not need an appointment – if they can add a phrase that says you do not need an appointment, why not simply remove the phrase that says you do???!) so I go online and make an appointment for 10:30 this morning. And, there is no way to actually complete anything. Just a location for instructions and forms to print out and send in.
I plan on riding the bus – the 8 am bus will get me there at the office at 10:00 am, and save me $25 in gas! I will catch the 12:30 bus back and get home around 2:30pm. I can also do a little shopping while I am in Kona!
The bus is 10 minutes late, and runs later, and later. At 10:30am, I am still 10 iles away from the DMV office, with 4 or 5 more stops to make. I pull out my phone and go to the DMV website. Appointments ar available at 10:45, 11:00, 11:15. and 11:30 am. Then in the afternoon starting at 1:00 pm. I pick 11:00 am. We arrive at the office at 11:05. I go to the office to check in and find that no appointment is needed!
I tell the receptionist that I need a copy of my registration paper.
He asks, “What is your license number?”
I tell him, and he pulls it up on his computer. “Your safety inspection has expired.” he says.
“Yes” I answer. “That is why I need the copy of the registration. To get the safety inspection.”
“I can’t give you a copy of the registration because the safety is expired,” he explains. “You have to have the safety inspection before the registration.”
“But, it is already registered!” I answer. “I just need a copy of the current registration – the one that expires at the end of February.”
“We can’t give you that until you have the safety inspection.”
“They won’t do the safety inspection without the registration!” I complain. “And I can’t find the one I already have. The one you sent me last year!”
“Safety first” he smiles! “They can do the safety inspection but give you a ‘failed due to registration’ which you bring back here and then we can register the vehicle.”
“I tried to get the safety inspection” I explain. “But they said I needed the little piece of paper!”
“Go back to them and tell them to give you a ‘failed due to registration’ form.” He smiles and continues, “Safety is the most important thing.”
Razza Frazza, shicka, muzza, . . .
They could have told me this on the phone and saved me this trip – but they don’t answer the phone at the Hawaii DMV in Kona!!
So, it’s out to the grocery store, then down to the bus stop. And there is NO 12:30 bus like I thought! Not until 2:35!
A two hour bus ride back to Na’alehu where I left the truck.
Arriving back at the site around 5 pm, I do a little work on removing the rock from the shower area.
And I hammer out a trench for the drain pipe.
Now it is down to the level I need it.
February 1, 2025
I repiped the drain for the shower.
Originally I had used 1 1/2″ PVC with a couple of 90 degree elbows as the trap. The elbows are too sharp – not a gentle bend if I ever need to run a snake through the drain, so I got an actual 2″ shower drain and 2 inch “p” trap – in black ABS pipe!
February 4, 2025
The last few days I have been helping my neighbor build rock gate columns for his parent’s house.
We start by digging a footing about 12 to 16″ deep. After pouring the footing, we stack up the rocks in a square pattern about 30″ square and then fill the square with concrete.
Moving up about 12 ” at a time, alternating stacking rocks and pouring concrete.
My sister and her husband arrive tomorrow for a few days.
TTFN
TropicalCastaway 