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.
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.
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.
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.
The wooden planter by the path leading from the driveway has two citrus plants growing in it – from seeds – both alive and well. I also have a hanging pot in a tree on the opposite side of the path that has a dozen small citrus plants growing in it they are about two or three inches tall – all from seeds out of a tangerine.
First chore was to put the solar panels on the roof of the shed and hook them up. Then I turned on the refrigerator and transferred the perishable food (bacon, sausage, ham, vegetables) into the refigerator. The water bottles in the collapsible cooler that I had frozen in Arizona had all melted, but everything was still cool. Within 45 minutes, the refrigerator had cooled from 70 degrees to 35. It was hot, cloudy, and overcast all day, but it still maintained over 12 volts in the system all day and dropped to 11.6 overnight.
After setting up the solar panels, I headed into Naalehu. I went to the post office, the bakery, and to the water fill station to fill up any empty water bottles I had.
The rest of the day was spent cutting the grass by the road in front of the property with my clippers – there has gotta be a better way to do this! I got about 1/2 the area chopped down. I took a shower at 4 PM. The water was cool.
As I sit in the terminal waiting to board the plane, I realize that I did not pack my medications, and forgot the blocks of cheese I wanted to bring.
Was originally scheduled for August 13th but I got the flu and have been battling it for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I still have a nagging cough.
I was able to change my flight on-line. The airlines had made a change about three weeks ago and told me that if their new itinerary did not work for me, I could change it up to two times without any fees. I didn’t even have to pay for the additional cost between the flights.
I arranged for a ride share ride to the airport. Normally, the cab ride is between $16 and $20, but because I needed to be at the airport at 4 am for my 6 am flight, the cab company wanted $36. The ride share was $33.00.
The flight out of Phoenix was totally full. The flight attendants on the flight from Oakland to Kona said that that flight was totally full also, but the middle seat in my row as well as in the row behind me were both empty.
I slept for most of the flight from Phoenix to Oakland, and about half the flight from Oakland to Kona. About an hour from Kona, they passed out the mandatory State of Hawaii Agriculture forms. . . more landfill fodder.
We landed in Kona about 5 minutes ahead of schedule, so we had to stay out on the tarmac until the plane that was parked in the place they wanted to park our plane moved out. After pulling into the place where they wanted the plane to park, they opened both the front and the rear doors for people to get off – different – Never done that before. The front door had the typical sloping ramp, but the rear door had stairs.
Before going to the luggage carousel, I walked around the airport looking for a luggage cart. The only ones I saw were secured in the dispensers where you have to pay $6 to use one to move your luggage 100 feet from the baggage claim area to the roadway. By putting my carry-on roller bag on top of one of the checked bags and my backpack on my back, I was able to drag both checked bags over to a restroom where I could change into a pair of shorts.
After leaving the restroom, I saw an empty lugggage cart, so I hustled over to it and commandeered it for my luggage. By now it was 1:15 PM and the bus is scheduled for 2:30 PM, so I pushed the luggage over to the bus stop between the two roadways in front of the airport terminal and waited.
The bus arrived at 2:35 PM, and I loaded my luggage into the baggage compartment and got on the bus. We rode through Kona, then Captain Cook, and on to OceanView, stopping to let people on or off as the situation warranted. After stopping at the rideshare parking area in Oceanview, we rode past South Point road and on into Waiohinu without stopping until we got to the chinese store where I got off and collected my luggage. My neighbor showed up a few minutes later to give me a ride and I was at the property at 5:15 PM.
The grass along the side of the road in front of the property has grown to about 2 or 3 feet tall.
Everything appears to be undisturbed, and right where I left it. The weeds/plants, grass in the footings and over the septic system has become overgrown – some are 3 feet tall and there are lits of that shrub with the obnoxious little burrs that stick to your clothing.
My plumeria in the wooden planter is doing well, as is the one behind the kitchen gazebo, but the hibiscus that I put into a wooden planter box next to the gazebo lanai appears to be dead. The palms and avocado by the road seem to be alive and green, but the avocado by the pathway has no leaves – it looks like a stick. None of the mango cuttings I tried to start the last time I was here are alive and in my garden tires there are a few small papayas, but nothing else.
The first order of business is to see if the car will start. Success on the first try – no problem!
So, I open the gates and head off to Oceanview for milk, eggs, butter and juice! Dinner is a heated up can of ravioli!
I put away everything that I will not need from my kitchen into the plastic tote boxes in the gazebo. Tomorrow, I will put the stove in the back of the Escape with the generator. I put away all my tools under the shed, and packed up any loose clothes. I watered everything one last time.
I have organized all my lumber (2 x 4 x 8, 2 x 6 x 8, 1 x 6 x 6 cedar fence boards) over at the Ahi lot and hauled two single mattresses over there. I put these on the pile of lumber under the gazebo and covered it all with a tarp, tying it up with ropes. hopefully, this will deter any thefts and keep out some of the rain.
I hauled the generator and the cement mixer back to the Holowai lot. I put the mixer at the back of the driveway with the table saw and covered them both with a large, heavy tarp; again tying it all up with ropes to keep out the rain and deter thefts. I will put the generator in the back of the Ford Escape.
I made one last trip down to the shore to say goodby to the ocean. While I was there, I saw an area on a side road where someone had dug up the dirt on the side of the road with a tractor; it looked like they had scooped out a few scoops to take somewhere else. I had some empty buckets with me, so I filled these with loose dirt to use in my planter boxes. I have picked up eight old used tires that were discarded along the side of the road, and used these as planters; filling them with mulch, leaves, and what dirt I can find. I grew some potatoes in one of these tires. I took the old soft potatoes that have sprouted and put them into the mulch in the tire. Potato plants came up and grew to about 2 and a half feet tall over the course of a couple of months. When I pulled out the plants, I found that I had grown baby potatoes in the roots. I also planted some turnip seeds and actually grew one turnip! I put three tires one on top of the other and I dump the stuff from the composting toilet into here along with some cardboard, grass, leaves, etc. I think that if this all sits in these tires for six months to a year, it will break down all the pathogens and turn it into some good mulch/fertilizer.
On the trip back to the property from the ocean, I filled up about 30 bottles with water.
I pulled the car into the driveway behind the gates and closed them, using a 1 x 4 screwed down across the top of the two gates to secure them closed.
My suitcases are packed, with the exception of the sheets and pillowcases, which I will pull off the bed in the morning. I have one smaller carry-on size suitcase inside of the full sized one. I will stuff the sheets and pillow cases into this in the morning, and will check this one. I will put some snacks along with my journals and computer and tablet and associated cords into my backpack. Anything I take back to AZ, i will have to bring back later. I just want to give the sheets and pillow cases a good washing in the washing machine at home.
I used some water from my “water heater” (2 liter soda bottles of water set out in the sun on a piece of metal roofing) to take a shower. As it was a bit late in the day, the water was beginning to cool, so my shower was a bit on the brisk side!
I heated a can of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, then took down the solar panels from the roof of the shed.
For the past week, I have been sorting through everything and separating what I want to take back with me to Arizona on the 17th – if not physically, at least mentally. The main things will be my journal, and the dirty sheets and pillowcases from the bed.
Today, I poured the 5th section of concrete between the columns at the Ahi gazebo. The 6th section still has some large rocks protruding above the surface of the new concrete, so I will need to find some way to remove them – a hammer and chisel? a large prybar? a jackhammer?
I also hauled more of the sand and gravel from the pile in the driveway. I have been stockpiling it at the base of the driveway for use in mixing concrete later. I have left only about 4 or 5 wheelbarrow loads at the top of the driveway. This clears the driveway so I can now back the car down. It does not slide quite as much going down, but the loose fill makes it want to sink in and lose traction. With all-wheel drive, it is still do-able though!
After spending a few days on Maui, I did not see my bird friends I call Bert and Ernie for a few days. They have returned to coming to the feeder.
Other birds are also coming in to grab a bite to eat.
I also saw a pair of different lizards – different than geckos, and Jackson Chameleons – out in the driveway at Holowai on the pile of lumber and pallets.
By researching on-line, I find that these are Green Anole lizards.
They apparently are territorial, and these two do not seem to be getting along.
TropicalCastaway 