September 5, 2023

Tuesday

I picked some guavas today.

Gathered the limbs that I had cut in the southwest section of the Ahi property and stacked them at the bottom of the driveway. Then, using the clippers, I cut them into short pieces less than 6 inches long. The portions that were too large to be cut with the clippers were placed on the pile of larger branches next to the driveway on the Hilo side.

I called the local gravel quarry and ordered a load of 2 1/2″ minus material to be delivered to Ahi. It arrived in the early afternoon and I started to spread it down the driveway. I had it dumped in the upper part of the driveway so the truck would not have to go up the steep driveway made of loose fill. 

I was concerned that the truck would not be able to get back up the driveway to the road.

Then I ordered a second load to be delivered to the Holowai property. They could not deliver today, but they could tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM. The neighbors also ordered a load to be delivered to them. Tomorrow morning. Their driveway is not as steep as mine and they have more cleared area with a longer driveway. This gives more room to build up a little speed before going up the hill. . . giving a better chance of getting back out. Other trucks have delivered to them at the bottom of their driveway and had no problem getting out, so they should have no problem.

Back at Holowai, my little flock has grown. Now there are six additional red headed cardinals. All of these have the dirty brown heads instead of the dark solid red of Bert and Ernie. They seem to come in pairs. A little research on the internet and I learned that these are just younger birds. The darker red feathers on their head, the cleaner white feathers on their bodies and the black feathers on the wings will develop as they get older. I can’t keep track of who is who, so I have kind of given up on giving them names.

TTFN

September 4, 2023

Monday – Labor Day

Tried to start the chipper – no go! I had to take apart the carburetor, clean it, and reinstall it. Ended up with gas pouring out the carburetor throat. I did not set the float valve correctly. So, I had to take it apart again. Got the chipper started, but it would not run at full power. There are still issues with the carb, but as long as it is running, I’ll use it as long as it lasts. I chipped the pile of limbs I had stacked next to the chipper as well as two piles of branches I had stacked in the driveway that I had cut from trees next to the road and next to the driveway. Then the chipper began flooding out, so i shut it off, and turned off the gas valve from the tank. I probably need a new carburetor.

My neighbor has a hot tub. It is similar to this:

I don’t know if he has had it for a while or if he just got it. It is older, but still all there. He set it up a month or so ago but needed to get a plastic liner for it, which he got last week. He and another friend of his set it up, installed the liner and filled it up. When they set it up, they made no provisions to be able to get to the drain under the bottom, so, he needed to either empty it out, raise it up so he could access the drain and refill it, or try to simply raise it (lift it) wihout draining it. He wanted to just lift it without draining it, so he asked four other friends to come over this morning at 11 AM to help.

So, I took a shower at 10:30 AM, put on clean clothes and walked over to his place.

Nobody else showed up. they had all cancelled, so he would have to do this some other time. So, I walked back to my place and sat under the gazebo and read a book.

I promptly fell asleep and woke up around 1 PM and went into town to fill up my water bottles. I had about 20 of the one gallon size and 30 of the 2 liter size in the car.

After unloading the water bottles at Holowai, I got out the chainsaw and after struggling to get it started, I cut some of the small trees and branches next to the road opposite my property – making the road and the driveway more accessible. then i took the chainsaw over to the Ahi lot and cut some of the small trees on the Hilo side of the driveway as well as some of the branches overhanging the driveway. Then went to the southwest corner of the lot and used the chainsaw on clearing out more of this area. The chainsaw started acting up and over-revving. It would not idle and continued to run at full throttle, so I shut it off. It was 5 PM anyway and time to go start dinner.

TTFN

September 3, 2023

Sunday

I took my rake over to the Ahi lot to repair the damage to the driveway from yesterday’s foopah! I was able to rake some of the gravel back into the holes I had created yesterday with the wheels of the car but I still need more fill material to raise the bottom of the driveway.

Ahi road leading to property at dead end.

I also cut some of the tall grass along Ahi road in front of the property to the north or Hilo side of the driveway. Then I started on the Kona side and cut the grass for about 20 feet along the property line and about ten feet into the road. I piled all the clipped grass on the driveway over the places where I had raked the loose gravel back into the holes.

I watered the plants and the trees with the water I had brought the other day.

Then I went back to the Holowai lot and cleared out more of the weeds at the bottom of the driveway where it flattens out.

I also cut out the weeds for about 5 to 10 feet around the tires I have used to create my “garden”.

In one of the tires, there are some papaya plants that are 12 to 18 inches tall.

TTFN

September 2, 2023

Saturday

Today could have been a frightful day!

It started out bright and sunny so I decided to attack the weeds that have sprung up in the Holowai driveway while there was shade over parts of it. These are the weeds that produce those pesky little furry seeds that cling to cloth surfaces that comes near to them. Once they get attached, they are a real bother to get off. I cleared the sloping part of the driveway and had quite a pile. I also had a pile of small pieces of broken wood and short ends from dismantling the pallets. I loaded these weeds and odds-n-ends broken pieces of wood into the car to take over to Ahi and dump at the bottom of the driveway.

At the Ahi lot, I backed down the driveway to the flat level area at the bottom. Then I opened the back and dumped out the weeds and boards. I got back into the car and backed over the pile I had just dumped there to crush it. Then I drove forward moving over a foot or so. Then back, then forward, then back, each time moving sideways a little bit. Well, one time as I was backing up, I went a little too far to the right and slid off the driveway into the soft, loose gravel on the side. By the time I stopped, I had backed up against two small trees about 2 inches in diameter, and maybe ten feet tall. I tried to go forward, but my tires just dug into the loose gravel and proceeded to dig four holes. I backed up again, this time pushing back these trees. My tires came out of the holes a few inches. I filled in the holes my tires had dug the best I could and tried to go forward. But I could not get enough momentum to get the tires up over the front edge of where these holes were. I was stuck!

So, I got the handsaw and cut down the trees as close to the ground as possible. Then I was able to back up another 5 or 6 feet. This gave me enough room to gather enough momentum to get up and into the center of the driveway onto some more compacted and solid material. Then I was able to continue on up to the top of the driveway. I was so intent on getting unstuck, that I did not take any pictures!

I need more fill material to raise the bottom portion of the driveway and reduce the angle of slope. This will also reduce the possibility of getting stuck again!

TTFN

September 1, 2023

Friday

Spent the morning at Ahi. Gathered the old, dead limbs and branches from the front hillside. Piled them at the bottom of the driveway in the parking spot. Cut more tall grass from the west side of the property and piled this onto the old dead limbs from the front hillside. Then I used the car and drove over it; back and forth, to crush it.

In the afternoon, I went downtown to fill 20 to 30 bottles with water which I delivered to the Ahi lot.

Then I returned to Holowai and tore apart more pallets.

TTFN

August 30, 2023

Wednesday

Took 4 new solar lights over to Ahi. Took the ones on the address sign off and put 3 of them on in their place. then i put 1 new one along with the one that was on the address sign and was dim last night, onto the Galleon’s Lap sign.

In the morning, I continued on clearing out the grass on the Kona side of the driveway. There has got to be a better way to do this than with hand clippers.

In the afternoon, I went down to Honuapo and swam in the two shallow pools – I didn’t really “swm” as they are only about 2 feet deep. The water was refreshing and relaxing.

I did not go over to the deeper pool where I could actually swim because the pool shoes I was wearing were falling apart. I was afraid that I would end up walking back to the car barefooted over the sharp lava.

I wanted to stop at the farmer’s market for bananas, but I had left my cash in my dirty jeans back at Holowai, so I had to drive back to the property to get some money. I have tried to get money out of my Arizona bank account at the credit union in town, but they won’t deal with it unless you have an account with them, and their atm fees are over $5.

After retrieving some cash, I went to the farmer’s market and got bananas (a hand of six bananas weighing about 2 pounds for $5 ) and a pint of honey – $18.00!

After returning to Arizona, I bought bananas at the grocery store. Three bananas weighing 2 lbs cost me 81 cents!

Off to the park to fill up a few water bottles and then back to the Ahi lot to clear grass along the southwest property line – the opposite side from where the driveway is located.

I was able to pick a few guavas from the Ahi lot.

TTFN

August 29, 2023

Tuesday

Spent the morning at the Ahi lot clearing the grass on the Kona side of the driveway. Also cleared a little on the Hilo side at the bottom of the drive.

The gravel on the driveway is loose and difficult to drive up the driveway. I’m convinced that a two wheel drive vehicle would not be able to get up the driveway without getting stuck. So, I piled all the grass clippings on the driveway in the areas where the loose gravel is at in order to get more traction in the loose gravel.

Went to the post office (nothing there) and stopped off at the water fill station to fill my empty water bottles. I have about 20 gallon milk jugs and other assorted gallon size jugs, about a dozen two or three gallon jugs, and 30 to 40 2 liter soda bottles. I use the water on the plants at both lots.

Cleared more grass on the Hilo side of the Ahi driveway. For now, it is clear from the driveway to the property line (about 20 feet) and from the bottom of the drive way to where the pile of logs start (about 50 feet). Resumed clearing on the Kona side. There has got to be a better way than doing this by hand with a pair of clippers! I took a shower at about 4 PM using water from my “water heater”.

There are a new set of red headed cardinals at the feeder. They came in with Grover. 

They are a bit different. 

One of them has a dirty yellow colored head instead of being dark bright red, and the other has a mottled colored head with a mixture of red and brown and dirty yellow feathers on it’s head. 

They are a little more assertive than Bert and Ernie (the original red-headed cardinals), and have made themselves quite at home at the feeder; even to the point of challenging the larger full cardinal – something Bert and Ernie never did!

The sky is clear tonight and there is a full moon. I walked over to the Ahi lot (a seven minute walk) to see if the solar lights I had put on the address sign were working. One of the three was lit, and it was real dim. Tomorrow I will change them out and I’ll add 3 to the Galleon’s Lap sign.

TTFN

August 28, 2023

Monday

Grover came by for breakfast.

On Saturday, I crumbled up a cracker into the wooden bird feeder I made during my last trip. Around noon, a red cardinal flew into the tree branches above the lania outside the gazebo. He was not as bright red as the others I had seen on previous trips, in fact, he was all dishreveled. He looked like he had been in a clothes dryer. A slight breeze caused his feathers to stand up, adding to his dishreveled look. He came down to the handrail but not any further.

Upon seeing him, the first bird to venture close, I got a cracker and crumbled it up into the feeder, but he just flew off. They have me well trained! Later in the day, he came back, followed by two rather large plump doves. 

They were large enough, that they might have been pigeons. Anyway, they started off down by the plastic tray along side the stairs that is more of a bird bath, as I have seen many birds taking a bath in it. 

The cardinal came down to the feeder and would sit on the edge of the feeder and reach down for a beak full, then look around and chirp. The doves came to see what he was chipring about. The doves came up on the lanai – something they have never done before – and being larger than the cardinal, in fact, they are almost twice his size, they were nor intimidated by him as the red headed cardinals are.

One of them hopped up onto the feeder and had a go at the crumbs.

On Sunday, I saw a different red cardinal – one that was not all dishreveled, or maybe it was the same one, but he had been to his hairdresser. I saw him two or three times in the branches above the lanai. Later in the day on Sunday, a solitary red headed cardinal came by and landed on the handrail. These red headed cardinals are about half the size of the normal all red cardinals, and the only part of them that is red is their head. Their bodies are predominately white, with black wings and their head is bright red. I had seen two of them flying back and forth down by the shed, but this solitary one was the only one to venture up to the gazebo – I call him Grover.

This morning, Grover came by for breakfast. He landed on the handrail and sat there. He looked left. He looked right. He looked left. He looked up. He looked down. He looked left. He looked right. When he was confident it was safe, he dropped down to the cross bars under the handrail. Then he hopped over to the feeder.

After a few bites, he flew away. That was a lot of effort for just a few bites!

I spent the morning cutting more of the grass from the side of Holowai Road from my property to the corner where it meets Palaoa Road. Then I started on the other side of the road and cleared about 40 feet. Tiring of this, I drove into Naalehu to the hardware store for a nut for the bolt that holds my four prong rake to the handle. I stopped at the park and filled up a bunch of empty bottles with water.

I spent the afternoon trimming the grass and weeds by the driveway at the Ahi lot. 

First, I backed the car down the driveway to the bottom. 

Then I proceeded to chop the grass and weeds and throw them onto the driveway. 

After which, I used the car to smash them down, driving up and down the drive.

There are still lots of tall grass in various areas of the lot.

I watered the plants. My two plumeria trees have leaves on them, so they must have taken root.

The two norfolk pines look like they might survive . . . the Ulu (breadfruit) did not. The macadamia nut tree looks good. It is still only about 6″ tall, but it is quite green.

and there are about a hundred little papaya trees growing in the rock tiered planters I created on my last trip on the front hill by the road.

TTFN

August 27, 2023

Sunday

Spent the day cutting the grass along Holowai Road. I cleaned up the frontage of both lots.

There’s gotta be a better way of doing this than using my hand clippers!

Hauled the grass back to the chipper. After it dries for a few days, I’ll run it through the chipper.

It was hot all day, cloudy and overcast, with a hint of sprinkles now and again.

TTFN